From another world
by InukiStar
Summary: Three years has passed since the end of Arago and although peace seems to be settled, a new evil finds his way to the Troopers, seeking their armors. The guys must now find a way to defeat this new threat and they have the weirdest help ever.  read first
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The Troopers and their universe do not belong to me but to their respective creators (whose name escapes me at the moment). Azhure, Orion and Silver belong to me and as for Aikyo and Rin, these characters belong to my friends Annette and Linda Marie.

About the story: I mainly wrote this fanfic for me and my two friends so yes, there will be pairings and yes, there will be romance. However, the story is mainly about the Troopers and how they will deal with a new threat. Love stories are on the side but not the main subject of this story. Also, I wrote that like I was reading a manga so if you want to have a better idea about the facial expressions and the action scenes, do the same.

About comments: Feel free to send me constructive comments about the story.

About misspellings: English is not my first language so, despite the fact that I'm not an awful writer, I'm sure there is grammar errors and misspellings in my chapters. Do not be shy to tell me about it and I shall correct the mistake right away. For future references, feel free to also explain to me the mistake to not repeat it. ^-^

From another world

Chapter 1: The flying sai

None of them were apparently destined to meet. They were all moving in different social circles and had different friends. And yet, an extraordinaire event will bring them together.

It all started by a beautiful Sunday morning. Having being apart for some time by their own different agendas, the Samurai Troopers decided to meet and spend some time together. They agreed to meet where they first met and to figure out their plans for the day there. The meeting was set for 11:00am.

Ryo was the first one to arrive. He looked around him, searching for a familiar face among the crowd. That's when he suddenly felt someone heavy jumped on his back, screaming. He tried to keep his balance and just before he felt his legs failing him, the weight was gone, followed by a laugh.

"Haha! Got you there, Ryo," said Shuu.

"Man, Shuu, you could have broken my back with all the extra weight you've gained," replied the red warrior with a grin.

"Hey! I didn't gain anything," shouted Shuu before taking a bite of the sandwich he bought on his way.

"I wouldn't be so sure. You DO look fatter from behind," said a cheerful voice behind Shuu.

"I've heard that Shin!"

"Well at least your ears are still functional despite all the noise you make," chuckled Shin.

Ryo was watching them doing their little hand shake thing when a hand landed on his shoulder. He looked over and saw the violet eye of Seiji.

"Seiji! Glad you could make it," he told him.

"I saw Touma on my way here. He missed the bus stop because he was too busy reading," the blond said. "I think he'll be a bit late because of that."

"That's our Touma," answered Shin with a laugh. "I hope he will realize it before he's too far away."

"By the look he had on his face, I think he did."

And as a matter of fact, fifteen minutes later, Touma came running to them, a novel under his arm. When he reached them, he stopped to take his breath.

"Wow, Touma. You ran like you had Arago after you," said Shuu.

"Sorry guys," answered Touma between two breaths. "I was so absorbed by that book I completely forgot to keep an eye out for the bus stop."

The five warriors were now reunited and after teasing Touma a bit more, they started to discuss about their plans for the day.

Not far from the meeting point, two young ladies were also enjoying the sunny day. One was a tomboy who was very popular with both genders and the other one was more known for her calm composure and optimism. Despite the fact they had some homework to do, both agreed no one could stay inside and study with an exceptional weather like this. So they went downtown to have fun.

"So…what do you want to do?" asked the long silver-blue braided hair girl to her friend.

The tomboy took a pensive position as she kept walking. Now that was a good question. They came downtown with no real objective in mind except going out. She grinned when an idea crossed her mind.

"Why not shopping? I'm sure you would look so cute in one of those dresses, Aikyo," she said as she pointed to a shop window. She chuckled as Aikyo made a face.

"I'm not here for shopping, Rin. Unless you want to make sure they have your size in there?"

"No way. You know how I hate that kind of thing."

"You will have to eventually wear one. For your boyfriend."

Embarrassment made Rin's cheeks go red. _Here she goes again_, she thought.

"Stop with that boyfriend talk!"

"Well unless you tell me you prefer girls, I'll start talking about girlfriend."

"I don't have time for that. I have to keep the perverts away from you! And that's enough to make me think that all men are perverts!"

Aikyo giggled.

"But they are. Some are just more gentleman-like than others."

"Yeah, yeah… Want to go for an ice cream?"

"It's a good start," said Aikyo with big smile.

Until now, it seemed to be like any normal day. But it quickly turned out otherwise.

Unknown to both groups, a small portal opened on the roof of one of the many buildings surrounding the rendezvous point. A young lady walked out of it and with the wave of a hand, she closed the portal. She looked older than her age and seemed to carry a heavy weight on her shoulders. The suit she was wearing was completely white: long white coat, short white dress with white shorts underneath it and white boots. Two sais were strap around her thighs.

Her gaze searched the area around her. She knew she wouldn't find what she was looking for right away but still hoped she would. She walked closer to the edge of the roof, wandering in what kind of world she ended up in and looked down. People were crawling all over the place like ants at a picnic. Things seemed relatively calm and for a moment, she wondered if she didn't mess up her spell again.

"I surely hope not," she said to herself. "I can't afford any mistake right now."

As the words escaped her mouth, the beautiful clear blue sky turned into dark and cloudy. The girl knew what she was pursuing found what it was looking for. By the darkness, she concluded the object of his attention was near of her. She looked down at the crowd again and saw everyone vanish at the same time except seven people.

"Only those with powers remain. Just like the other times. That's bad. There's too many of them. I won't be able to save them all."

On the street, the Troopers were already back to back, checking around them for the enemy. They held their orbs tightly in their hand and with a nod, they changed into their sub-armor. Many things crossed their mind, mostly related to the Netherworld since the city looked just like their first battleground some years ago. But as the minutes pass, nothing happened and they started to wonder what kind of trap this was.

"Geez, where's the bad guy so we can just kick his butt already?!" said Shuu who finally broke the silence.

"You know it won't be that easy," replied Seiji, still scanning the area with his sharp eyes.

"Ryo, does any of this look familiar to you?" asked Touma.

The black hair warrior nodded. It WAS like when the Netherworld took their world but something felt different. He opened his mouth to share his thoughts with his friends when Seiji pointed something ahead of him, saying two persons were running at them. The group turned to look at the persons and lowered their guard when they realized it was two girls. As Shin and Ryo engaged the conversation with the girls, Touma and Seiji looked at each other.

"This is too much like the first time," said the blue warrior. His companion nodded.

"Too much to be a coincidence," replied Seiji.

"What's going on here? And who are you guys?" asked Rin. She blinked at Ryo. "Hey… Aren't you the guy who brought a white tiger in the city a few years back? I saw you on the news back then."

"Er… Well…" Ryo didn't know what to say and looked at Shin with pleading eyes that were saying _Help me_.

Shin gave the girls his best smile in hope to calm them down.

"Girls, calm down…" he started to say but Aikyo frowned at him.

"Calm down?" she asked him a bit angrily. "You ask us to calm down when everyone on the planet seems to have vanished? What kind of guy are you? And what makes us believe you're not responsible for all this?"

From the building top, the white magician looked at the group. With the city empty, their voices could be heard even if she was very far from them and by the tone of them, she guessed they were arguing. A normal reaction considering the situation she thought. But time was running short as she saw shadows crawling toward them and took humanoid shape. She prepared herself to jump to the rescue but watched with amazement the boys changed into something else. Five lights blinded her temporarily and when they faded, she saw them fighting the shadow people with weapons. One of the girls seemed to have something on her right hand, protecting her other friend.

However, this wasn't enough.

"Our weapons don't work on them," shouted Touma to his friends. He kept shooting his arrows still, but they were all passing through them. The bodies of the shadows were like jelly and any wounds made on them immediately closed up.

"Damn! Even my claw doesn't work!" yelled Rin. She stood in front of Aikyo protectively, backing them both to the Troopers's circle. No matter how many times she slashed the enemy, it got up, closed the wound and kept walking toward them. "I fee like in a horror movie."

"Oh… If I had some water around, I could try something," said Aikyo.

Seiji, to his surprise, had no problem fighting the shadows. His sword slashed through them and they vanished afterwards. Touma noticed this as well and quickly understood the reason.

"It's your light! Seiji, use your Rai Ko Zan on them! It will surely take care of them!" he shouted to the green warrior.

He didn't need to hear that a second that. Seiji summoned all his strength and slashed all the shadow people with his special attack. None remained but the feeling of victory was short. From under them, their own shadows attacked them. The jelly-like substance surrounded completely the armors of the warriors like a big hand and started to drain their energy. One by one, they fell to their knees, feeling their strength leaving them. On their side, the girls were simply trapped in the jelly. Only their heads were not covered. Rin struggled with everything she got but she could barely move.

"ARGH! Let me go!" she yelled.

"Will someone explain to us WHAT's going on?" shouted Aikyo. Nothing was making her more angry that being in trouble and not knowing why.

"If you want to know, I'll tell you," finally said a deep voice ahead of the group.

A man wearing a hooded cape slowly walked to them. He was hiding in the shadows all this time, watching and preparing his move. As he moved forward, the darkness around them got darker and more threatening. He stopped a few steps ahead of Ryo and grinned.

"You're all helpless now. Your powers…are mine."

"Dream on, buddy!" shouted Shuu. "We'll never surrender our armors!"

"Oh but you will. I can feel them plead me to take them to the darkness. They want to fight but you all refuse. You restrain them. With me, that won't be a problem. And they might be the edge I need to defeat her."

His gaze landed on the girls. He was surprised to see such lovely ladies with so much power in them. He walked toward Rin but kept his distance, feeling she could play a dirty trick on him and get free. He looked at her claw.

"My, my… What a dangerous weapon you have there. With a heavy destiny too. I've met someone like you but she didn't carry your willpower," he told the girl. "But I'm not sure if you're a girl or a man."

"Grrr… Why don't you come closer and find out?"

"No thanks. I can see your curves well enough from here I am, miss."

He then turned his eyes to Aikyo. He laughed a bit when she asked him some answers.

"Not much impress you, is it?" he asked her.

Aikyo rolled her eyes. "Look, if you know I have some kind of power, you know nothing can't impress me though your tricks are quite unusual."

"Calm and witty. I like that."

"I know when struggling is useless but it doesn't mean I'm one to give up easily," she told him with frown. But that made the cloaked man laugh more. He walked away and returned in front of Ryo and looked at them all.

"I never thought it would be so easy to catch everyone with powers in this city so fast. I guess I can be lucky sometimes."

He started to bore them with his speech about how powerful he will be and how feeble they were to struggle, not knowing that above him, someone else was watching and she wasn't going to let him get anymore powers. She took out one of her sais and cast two spells on it. The sai had a strange glow surrounding it with a small wind blowing all around it. She held it up and she thought _Don't miss_.

"…and since I am a superior being," continued to say the cloaked man.

"Will someone find a way to get free to shut him up?" groaned Shuu. "It's already hard enough to focus to fight that energy drain thing on my back."

"Does anyone really listen to him?" asked Shin before collapsing on the ground. He was still awake but his arms couldn't support his body any longer. "I think I need to do more push-ups," he said with a weak smile.

"Damn… It can't end like this," Ryo said, looking up at the man. At this instant, a sai came down and landed at the man's feet. Ryo heard him curse before an explosion of light blinded him. He felt his strength returning and when he opened his eyes, the people started to appear on the street like nothing happened. Realizing they were all gear up, he told the guys to remove their main armor and to follow him out of there. He quickly grabbed Aikyo while Shuu took Rin in his arms and at the group ran out of sight, their speed making them invisible to any normal human being. But before leaving, Touma took the sai with him, thinking it would be better than leaving it there. Who knew what kind of artifact it was. And he had a theory to confirm about this weapon…

From the rooftop, the girl sighed.

"Of course, he HAD to take it," she said, sighing again. "Well…I guess I better go and introduce myself," she continued, scratching the back of her head.


	2. Chapter 2

From another world

Chapter 2: The white magician

"Will someone explain to me what this was all about?" asked Aikyo.

"We don't know ourselves. We were caught in this just like you two," Shin told her.

"And he kept giving you dirty looks! That pervert!" said Rin before slamming her fist into a tree. "Next time I see him, he's going to regret that."

"How can you know? We couldn't see his face," asked Shuu.

"I can tell when a guy gives a dirty look to one of my friends."

"Overprotective a bit?" questioned Shuu with a teasing tone.

Rin looked at him then grinned back. "Nah. Just making sure they won't get into trouble with stupid guys."

The group was now out of town. They ran until they reach the forest and were now resting near a river. The guys still had their sub-armor on, just in case. Rin was on her guard as well, sitting on a branch in a tree while Aikyo removed her shoes and immerged her feet in the water, thinking about what happened. None of them had any ideas of what really happened or what saved them. Touma was sitting under a tree, staring at the sai.

"Did you find something?" Shin asked him, sitting next to him.

"At first, I thought it was Kayura's but this sai is very different from hers."

"Didn't she give them up after she regained her will? She uses the staff Shuten had."

"I know," he answered to the Suiko bearer. "But it was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw it. Someone saw everything and stopped him. However, why this person didn't interfere earlier?"

"Maybe he or she was waiting for a good opportunity," said Aikyo, turning her head toward them.

"Whoever it was, we were lucky this person was there and helped us out," replied Rin from her tree. She looked down at the group. "I think we're safe for now." She jumped down and landed between Seiji and Shuu gracefully and stood up proudly. "We should plan our next move."

"Wait wait wait… Before planning and everything, I think we should introduce ourselves," proposed Shuu. He pointed his thumb toward himself. "I'm Shuu. And this is Ryo, Touma, Shin and Seiji," he continued, pointing to each Trooper respectively. "What about you two?"

Rin blinked, a bit surprised. True, it was awkward to not know the names of those with whom you work with but she felt so comfortable around them that she completely forgot she didn't introduce herself. Maybe it was also because of the situation they were in: act quickly and ask questions later.

"Ah yes," she said, apologizing. "I guess the whole situation made me forget we didn't know each other. I'm Rin. My friend over there is Aikyo."

Aikyo waved at them, smiling.

"Hi," she said cheerfully.

"Now that's done, any idea where we should go?" Rin asked to the Troopers.

The guys looked at each other. Where to go when you had a strange magician guy after you? That was a trick question. There was no safe place to go and none of them knew how that magician worked. And with no magician friend in their relations, this was going to be hard.

She used that time off to appear in front of the group but on the other side of the river to avoid startling them too much. Jumping down from the tree top to the ground, she made enough noise to make sure they would hear her and hopefully start a dialogue.

Big mistake.

Barely landed, she lifted her head to see the braided girl quickly stood up and used the river's water to strike her. Cursing, she did a back flip, grabbed a tree branch above her and swung herself back into the tree. The water struck the tree so hard it that the tree was partially uprooted. Loosing her balance, she fell down and caught a glimpse of someone with a sharp object glued to his right hand crossing the river. She rolled on herself to avoid the first strike but the person quickly struck on the other side of her side and she saw the beautiful and yet fearsome claw which was coming out of the hand.

_I wouldn't want that through me_, she thought.

She blocked the punch the person tried to give her and notice it was a rather handsome looking person. As she grabbed the clawed hand to avoid another punch, she stared at the face to finally realize it was another girl dressing up as man. It wasn't very hard to notice at this very close range but from afar, anyone could be fooled.

"Can't we talk?" asked the white magician.

"You're not going to fool us twice!" said the girl, glaring at her.

_Great, now they think "I" am the bad guy. I hate it when that happens._

Noticing she couldn't compete with the girl's strength, the magician used a wind spell to throw her in the water. She looked at the guys on the other side of the river who geared up but didn't make any move to attack. She saw the dark blue one with her sai. She had little time to react. The girl with the claw was getting out of the water and the other one was getting another dangerous wave ready for her. She stared at the dark blue Trooper and when she knew he noticed her staring, she ran into the forest behind her. Not too fast to make sure they will all follow but not in plain sight to avoid anymore fighting.

"Why did you attack her?" Shin asked to Aikyo.

"She startled me. Sorry," answered Aikyo a bit embarrassed. "I didn't want another glue thing on me."

Shin looked at the tree she nearly knocked down and took good notes to never make her mad. In the meantime, Shuu tried to help Rin out of the water but she refused his help.

"We got to go after her!" said Rin. "Maybe she's with that guy!"

"No, she's not," replied Touma, stepping forward. "I think it was the person who saved us. Let's go after her before we lose her."

"Oh great. Couldn't she show up in a more NONE stealth-like way?" complained Aikyo. The remark made Shin chuckled a bit.

"Maybe that was the point of making such noise to appear before us," said Ryo, starting the chase. "But we were all so nervous that it had the opposite effect."

"If she appears before you, don't attack her! Let's see what she wants first," ordered Touma.

The group stayed together and tracked the girl. She left an obvious trail behind her, another sign she wanted to be found by them. They didn't pursue her for long as she was waiting for them in a small clearing. At her sight, they stopped dead on their tracks and waited for her move. The sun was behind her, its light passing through the branches and leaves of the tall trees. Some leaves slowly floated around her as if she just jumped down from a tree branch not long ago. A couple of birds could be heard, singing not too far away from them. All those elements were giving to the clearing and the magician a calm and serene atmosphere. The members of the group felt their worries vanish but still had their mind very alert.

The girl noticed they were less tense and, as she looked at Touma, she held out of her slowly.

"May I have my sai back please?" she asked gently.

"How can you prove us it's yours?" asked Touma in return. He saw her reached to her left thigh and took out another sai. It was identical to the one he was holding. He walked slowly forward and gave the sai back to its owner. She put them away, her eyes still locked on Touma and the group behind him.

"My name is Azhure. I'm sure you have many questions to ask me. Mostly about what happened and why this man is after you." She saw everyone nodded. "This place is not really the safe but I can answer a few questions before we go somewhere else."

"Well you could start with who and why," said Aikyo who was standing behind Rin. She wasn't scared of the young lady but without any water around her, she didn't feel safe and thought that running into more trouble when you can't defend yourself wasn't the brightest of ideas.

Azhure didn't know where to start. That was the part she hated the most: explain the reason behind this man's attacks. She never knew how to resume well the whole story since it was long and complicated. Or so she thought. Moreover, since the story was concerning her, she didn't want to share confidences and secrets with them.

"Here's the short version. His name is Silver…"

"Silver? What kind of name is that?" asked Shuu. He received a few glares. "Ok sorry… But it's still a weird name."

"He's been traveling between worlds to steal the powers of others and make himself stronger. When he comes in a new world, he cast a spell that isolates those with powers in another dimension and uses his original power, darkness and shadows, to attack and get what he wants."

"So you managed to break his spell and free us?" asked Touma.

"It's not that simple. More like I broke his concentration and he ran away," she told him.

Ryo frowned. He remembered how the magician acted when the sai arrived and it was more like he wasn't expecting it. He started to wonder if he thought Azhure wasn't around. He'll discuss this matter with the others later.

"I'll protect you until I can chase him away from your world and right now, I need a place you can all stay so I can put a spell that will make you invisible to his eyes until I can make you amulets that will protect beyond the barrier. Do you have any place in mind?"

"I think there's only one place that will fit," said Shin. "It's not too far from here and we know the person who lives there."

***

The eight of them were standing in front of a mansion by a lake. Rin and Aikyo were speechless. After the boys removed their sub-armor, Ryo went to the door and ran the bell. After a few seconds, Nasuti came to the door.

"Ryo!" She looked over his shoulder. "And everyone! That's a nice surprise! Come on in!"

"Hmmm… Can we come too?" shyly asked Aikyo.

"Of course you can. Don't be silly," Nasuti replied with a smile.

Azhure ignored the curious look Nasuti gave her and asked Touma to explain the situation while she was putting up the magic field around the mansion. He nodded and closed to door when everyone was in.

"What about that girl in white outside?" asked Nasuti.

"We need to talk about that actually," he said, taking her in the living room with the others.

They told her about their situation, introduced the girls to her and asked her about a possible stay. Of course, Nasuti told them they could stay. Living in a big house like this by herself was getting to her sometimes and having people around would make it more lively. She looked outside to see Azhure drawing something on the ground and reciting something. It was unreal for her to see someone practice magic like that but after all the things she saw since she met the Troopers, it was not that surprising.

After she left to get some refreshments, Ryo shared his thoughts about Azhure to the others.

"Yes, I have the feeling she's hiding something too but I think she will tell us eventually," said Rin. "We are strangers to her, remember? She can't tell us everything right away."

"True but we need to know all we can in order to know what we're up against," explained Seiji. "I'm the only one among us who can defend himself and I have to admit it won't be easy to protect all of you without her cooperation."

"Awww… I hate that kind of situation," whined Shuu as he let himself fall on the couch. He blinked as an idea crossed his mind. "Hey, do you think flashlights would work on this guy?"

"Flashlights? You got to be kidding me," said Aikyo.

"Think about it. If the guy is all dark and everything, a flashlight could be a good weapon."

"Hmmm… It would be an odd way to fight but I think you're not totally wrong, Shuu. We can always ask Azhure about it," said Touma.

"Considering she knows technology," replied Rin who was leaning against the wall.

They keep chatting about the subject, Nasuti came in with some fruit punch and joined the conversation. She highly doubted she could be of any use but she was glad the Troopers didn't shut out of the conversation and shared their thoughts and hypotheses with her. She agreed with Touma that flashlights might work and proposed to go buy some for them if Azhure could confirm them it would work.

As she proposed that, Azhure walked in. She looked drain but did her best to not make it too obvious. She felt their gazes on her and that made her uncomfortable for some reason.

"The spell has been put around the house. You're safe for now." She turned to Nasuti. "I'm sorry for this but is there a room I could work in peace? I need to build them amulets before tomorrow."

"You don't have to—" started Ryo

"The sooner the better. I don't want this to affect your life more than it has already."

"Oh, you are NOT going to be this way with us, miss," said Aikyo. She stood up and gently grabbed Azhure's hand. "We're in this together, right? We'll help out anyway we can. You're not going to face that maniac alone."

"I agree," said Touma. "Besides, if our protector drains herself too much, she won't do much protecting, is she?"

"Right!" said Shuu and Rin together.

"But—"

"No objection. Besides, I want to apologize for attacking you but you need to be less stealthy on us. That will help a lot," continued Aikyo. "Now, sit down and rest a bit. Nasuti, let's cook her a little something from Earth. She needs to know our culture more."

"But I—"

"Actually, let me help you. Nasuti, things haven't move much in your kitchen since last time, is it?" asked Shin.

"No. You two go ahead. I'll go buy the flashlights. It's worth a try."

"Good. Azhure, you stay right here and rest up. We'll take care of your stomach," said Shin with a smile. He and Aikyo left for the kitchen, followed by Nasuti who grabbed her purse and, after checking that no one needed something particular, left for the store to buy flashlights.

"Well," started Azhure after a few seconds of silence, "hmmm…anything else you want to ask me? We're safe in here so we can elaborate more if you want."

"Let's just make this clear," said Rin. "I'm sorry for attacking you but I still have my doubts about you. However, I feel you're not a bad person so please, can you tell us all the other things you haven't told us yet?"

"Since you've been honest with me, I'll return the favor," said Azhure. "I'll tell you everything."


	3. Chapter 3

From another world

Chapter 3: Before the storm

"It's all started in my own world. My people worshipped the goddess of creation and according to our folklore, the royal family was her direct descendants. The female descendants were very powerful magicians while the male were incredible fighters. We lived isolated from the rest of the world, a barrier keeping us hidden from the outside world. We were happy with that way of life. But we were suddenly attacked by a man in black. He wielded the power of darkness with great dexterity and his army seemed indestructible. He said he wanted the power of the goddess for himself and would take it from us who were selfish to keep it from ourselves all those centuries. We fought with everything we got but he was too powerful for us. One man was able to eradicate an entire civilization…"

Azhure stopped there as she remembered the day her life changed forever. No matter how many times she was telling this tale, it still hurt her. She was so powerless back then.

"He did all that because he was after me. The power of the goddess is stronger in the female descendants. My big brother intervened, tried to protect me but was killed in front of me. After that…I don't really remember what happened. I snapped I guess. When I regained my senses, everyone was dead and I saw Silver opening a portal to another world and fled. I've been pursuing him ever since."

"Why does he do that?" asked Seiji.

"My only guess is to be powerful enough to take me on. Like I said, I don't remember anything from after he killed my brother and the moment he fled in that magic portal. Maybe I did something."

"Wow," said Rin. "I was expecting something but…nothing close to that. So you managed to stop him every time?"

Azhure coughed, embarrassed. Now, that was the tricky part.

"Well, you see… Most…of the time I do."

Silence.

"For some reason that killed the whole heroic act," said Shuu.

"Yes but she did managed to save us all," objected Seiji calmly.

"Honestly that was pure luck. I actually missed him back there. It's the first time I was able to save everyone."

Another silence.

"Your spell better work out," said Rin with a tone of discouragement. She rubbed her eyes, noting that princesses were not as great as the stories always said.

"The most important thing is she did get us out of trouble before," said Touma. "Ok so her skills might be not as great as we thought but it's a good start."

"Hey! Don't talk like I wasn't in the room!"

***

In the kitchen, Aikyo and Shin could only hear the tone of the conversation. At first she was worried but when she finally heard some laughing, she felt better and went back to the cooking.

"Don't worry. They won't tear each other apart," Shin told her.

"Why are you saying that?" asked Aikyo.

"Because you looked worried." He grabbed the salt and went back to his cooking. "But you shouldn't be. It's in situations like this one that you met people and make bonds stronger than anything else."

"Is this how you have met those four friends of yours?"

Shin nodded. With a smile, he told her about how he met them, about their armors and about that fight he and the others Troopers led against the forces of Arago. Aikyo did remember something about a floating castle in the sky above the city three years ago and since she saw the armors, she believed him. He then started to tell her funny stories about his friends, like the time Touma and Shuu ran after Seiji to cut his hair or the time they set the tree on fire to force Touma to get down and eat lunch with them.

"You guys are wild!" she said before laughing.

Shin laughed as well. "I never said we did smart things all the time."

"But…what do you think of all this? The situation we're in I mean."

"Well," started Shin after a short silence, "I was hoping we wouldn't have to fight or use our armors once we defeated Arago. But ever since then, we were forced to. This is just another situation requiring our armors' strength… AH! The stew!!"

As Shin was taking care of the stew case, Aikyo noted his regret to have to fight. She couldn't blame him for she felt the same. However, she was NEVER in a fight this big before unlike him. In fact, she was never in a battle period. All this was making her very uncomfortable and she was glad Shin wasn't happy about it either.

_Like anyone would be happy to be in our situation_, she thought, rolling her eyes to the sky.

She glanced at Shin's buttocks.

_Hmmmm… Not bad…_

***

After supper, Azhure finally retreated to the room Nasuti had for her to work on the amulets. The troopers and the girls used that opportunity to call their respective family. Well, most of them.

"Don't you have someone to call, Touma?" asked Rin to the blue boy. He's been sitting in the living room by himself, reading his book. Shuu was talking lively to his mother.

"Not really. My mom is somewhere in America and my dad is never home. It's not like they need to know. I'm mostly living by myself."

"Still, you should at least warn your dad. No?"

"Nah."

"Don't worry about him" said Shuu as he walked toward her. "He's always been like that."

"Shuu, I can hear you," warned Touma.

Shuu just laughed and went over to Touma. The blue boy gave him a stare but in a blink of an eye, Shuu stole his book.

"Hey! Give that back!"

"Make me!"

"Shuu, I'm warning you…"

"You need to be more sociable. We have guests."

"That's it!"

With surprise, Rin watched Touma jumped at Shuu but he moved away before he could catch his book. A chase started in the living room and continued in the dining room and in the kitchen. After a few minutes, Seiji called to them.

"Touma, do you want to listen to your messages on your answering machine?"

Both boys stopped dead on their track.

"Coming! Shuu, my book…"

With a grin, Shuu tossed carefully the book to Touma. Touma grinned back and left. Rin just stared at them.

"What was THAT all about!?" she asked Shuu.

"He was a bit stressed about all this so I helped him out," he answered.

"By stealing his book?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Exercise is a very good stress reliever."

"You're so weird…"

Once the calls were done, they all sat in the living room and watch some TV. All of them were tired and, to be perfectly honest, they had nothing else to add about their current situation. Nasuti looked at them and had the weird impression to be looking at a bunch of zombies.

"Well, girls, if you want to rest, I got a room prepared for you," she said.

"I guess some sleep wouldn't hurt," commented Aikyo as she was getting up. Rin nodded and left the room with Aikyo and Nasuti.

"There are a few things you need to know about the guys before going to sleep," started Nasuti.

"Except the fact they are still acting like kids?" asked Rin.

"In the morning, they have absolutely no manners," explained Nasuti with a repressed smile. She gave a small key ring to Aikyo.

"What's this?" asked the long silver haired girl.

"Keys to the bathroom downstairs. Trust me, you will need it tomorrow when they'll be all fighting to get in the bathroom first. I'm sure you can manage this one together. I have my own bathroom in my room but I had to lock my bedroom door to make sure they won't use it while I'm asleep like they did in the past."

"They are scary," said Rin.

"More like impossible," replied Aikyo.

"You'll be using Ryo's room. It was easier to move him around then the others. There are new sheets in the closet and I brought you some of my pjs. You should be alright like that. Oh and if you hear some fighting in the room next to you, it's probably Shuu and Shin fighting for the bed near the window. Good night!"

"Man, I can't believe this," said Rin after Nasuti closed the door behind her. "Why did we have to be stuck here?"

"Oh don't say that. You're enjoying this. I saw how you look at that athletic guy. Shuu isn't it?"

Rin rolled her eyes. No matter what, Aikyo had always time to play matchmaker.

"Now is really not the time, Aikyo. And don't think I didn't see you stare at this poor guy's ass earlier. How am I supposed to protect you from perverts if you act like one?"

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Aikyo asked Rin after some minutes of silence.

"Who? Nasuti?"

"No. I meant Azhure. She has that savior complex and she has it BAD."

"Well how would you react if everyone you knew and cared about died because of you?"

"Hmmm… I'll travel between dimensions and hunt down the bastard who did it?"

"And protect everyone he will try to harm. Yeah, I know she has it bad but how are we supposed to help? We're strangers to her and she doesn't seem to be wishing for friends."

"That's not a reason to not try. She's all work work work. She needs a break!"

"Your optimism is astonishing," replied Rin with rolling eyes. "Fine, you win. We'll try to be friends with her but please, tell me it's not to match her with one of the boys."

"It's too early to promise that."

"That's what I was afraid to hear…"

***

The clock rang 2 o'clock in the morning. Touma was still up, alone, but he was now considering going to bed. He had only afternoon classes tomorrow so he was able to stay up at his usual hours. He closed his book, only a chapter away from the end but he thought he already guessed who the murderer was and why he did it. He was able to stand the suspense until he get up in the morning.

He silently walked upstairs, making sure not to make any noise to wake up anyone. He could hear the slow and steady breathing of those asleep and Shuu's snore. He grinned to himself and when he reached the door to his room, he noticed some light coming out of Nasuti's study. Curious, he slowly reached to the door and slowly opened it.

He saw Azhure's back, sitting in front of a desk, a flying book next to her. Magic dust was falling from the flipping pages, vanishing before hitting the ground. There was no incantation but he could tell she was very focused on the task at hand.

"Something is on your mind?" she asked, not moving from her chair.

"How did you know I was there?" demanded Touma, walking into the room and closing the door behind him.

"When you expect someone to jump at you at any second, your senses are very alert. You know what I mean by that, don't you? You are a warrior too."

He knew all too well.

"Yeah but shouldn't you be resting? After all that casting today…" he said, staring at the flying magic book.

"I could ask you the same, being the tortured victim and all."

He went to her side and looked on the desk. There were four glassed stars with a letter carved into them. Each letter had a different color that he soon matched with the one of his armor and those of his friends. Next to them, a dark blue headband. The color of his armor.

"Where did you get that?"

"It was my brother's. It's the only thing I kept from my world."

"That's a coincidence. My armor is exactly this color."

"If you start a speech on destiny, I'm stopping you right there. Destiny's a bitch."

Caught off guard, Touma couldn't help it but laugh. He wasn't expecting such language from a princess. She didn't seem to mind since she didn't toast him on the spot for laughing on a serious matter. But to his surprise, he saw her grinned.

"I heard that during my travels once. I kind of like it," she said. "Orion was very fond of this color," she continued, going back to their subject. "It's odd because when I hold it, sometimes, I think I can hear him talk to me. I think that's why I didn't turn into someone who is only living for revenge."

He looked at her and he felt sad that one so young had such thoughts. No home. No friends. Just pursuing someone in hope to settle the past. He wasn't sure what to say to her.

"I'm sure he's proud of you."

"Yeah. I didn't kill anyone with my spells yet, thanks to Flappy, my magic book. With it, I can easily cancel any spell that goes wrong."

_I hope that was sarcasm…_ he thought.

"Anyway, since you're here and since there's a big chance that I might be sleeping like the dead in the morning, I'll give you the instructions for those charms."

"Alright, I'm listening."

"It's very simple. Just have it on you at all times and it will make you blind to Silver's eye. But be careful. That kind of charm is fragile. If you break it up or remove it from your person just for a second, Silver will find you in a flash and there's no guarantee I'll reach you in time to save your skin."

"You can tell if a charm breaks?"

"More or less. You guys will be invisible to my eyes as well. So if you break it or lose it, I'll know because I'll be able to sense your energy. So make sure to tell that to you friends and the girls, ok?"

Touma nodded. When she put down the fifth finished charm, she looked at him for the time since he walked into the room. She gave him a tired smile.

"I'm glad we could talk. I'm not usually this open. Thanks for keeping me company."

He smiled back to her. Even if she was acting tough, she was lonely. Everyone in the house was able to tell. She was a bad comedian.

After some more minutes of conversation, they bided each other good night. She still had 2 charms to do and sunset was drawing near. He left for this bedroom, only to find Ryo asleep in his bed.

_That's what you get when you're the last one to go to bed_, he thought. He took note to get revenge on Ryo later, get into the sleeping bag and fell fast asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

From another world

Chapter 4: Earthquake

She walked down the golden stairs in her luxurious ball dress. Her long silver hair were curled and filled with sparkles and pearls. Everyone was waiting for her and as soon as she walked through the two large doors, carved with unicorns made of silver and diamond horns, when all the faces of the guests turned to her, she only saw him. He was waiting for her in the middle of the ballroom, dressed elegantly in light blue, a silver blade at his side.

With no concerns about the etiquette, she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. His dashing smile melt her heart and made her blush, as always. To his ear, she whispered words of undying love and eternal affection. He grinned, opened his mouth and said…

"SHOTGUN!!!!"

Aikyo suddenly woke up, not fully realizing where she was and what hour it was. Confused, she looked around, saying "What? What?" a couple of times before finally receiving Rin's pillow in the face.

"Cut it down, dammit! There's enough of the idiots outside, fighting for the bathroom," muttered an angry sleepy Rin.

The silver haired girl frown. Rin wasn't the only one who was disturbed by their fight but she knew that explaining things to Rin so early in the morning wouldn't get anywhere. The tomboy would only listen after she took her shower.

"No way! You were the last one to get up!"

"I think in this case, you should respect your elders."

"Shut up, Shin!" said two voices.

"Oh you little bastards are asking for it now…"

Being an only child, Aikyo was not used to such rough language. Rin could talk like a boy sometimes but this…this was unbelievable for her. She slipped out of bed, cracked the door open and watched the scene. Ryo, Shuu and Shin were, as Nasuti predicted last night, fighting for the bathroom. She didn't see Seiji and Touma so she assumed they had been smart enough to get up before them all and were already done with the bathroom.

The boys were wrestling in front of the bathroom's door. It didn't look like a friendly fight but that the same time, they didn't seem to really hurt each other. They were all crawling to the door while preventing the others to get any further. It was a confusing mix of legs and arms, curses flying here and there. Aikyo couldn't help but rolled up her eyes to the sky.

_Don't they realize they'll be much__ more efficient if they were NOT fighting for it?_

She sighed, grabbed the key Nasuti gave them the previous night and walked out of the room. She didn't look back. Somehow, she knew if she stood there with the key, one of them would figure out another bathroom was available and she wasn't in the mood to run downstairs, find the bathroom and locked herself in.

On her way down, she saw Seiji at the table, sipping tea and reading the morning newspaper quietly. He was all dressed up for school and seemed undisturbed by the quarrel upstairs. Aikyo thought it was hard to actually get any reaction from him since he looked very calm and composed. Except around girls. She immediately noticed his distance when they were together. Though he tried to be friendly, she detected the uneasiness in his voice when she or Rin was around. That made her come up with crazy hypothesis about this attitude but none seemed right. She'll have to ask him directly. Eventually.

It was in the shower that she wondered how Azhure was. And what she would do with them gone for the whole day. The school week was starting so they would be busy until next Sunday. Would she hunt that magician guy? The thought of him made her shiver for she remembered how "interested" he was in her.

_Just when__ I finally managed to convince Rin to go shopping, we get attacked by a crazy guy who wants to steal our powers. Then, he lets me know very clearly that he's interested in me and we got a magic girl with issues who's supposed to be our bodyguard. And I'm stuck with stupid boys who fight for the bathroom every morning and their friend is scared of women. Great. How come my horoscope didn't see that coming? Oh well… At least, they're cute…_

Meanwhile, upstairs the fight took a sudden turn of events. Tired of the yelling and insults, Rin got up, walked straight to them, called out her claw and dove it into the floor, next to Ryo's face. The boys froze, looked at the claw then at Rin and at the claw again and finally, at Rin. She pointed her finger to Ryo's face.

"You. You go first. Then it's you," she said, pointing to Shin, "and you're last," she finished, pointing to Shuu.

"Hey! Why am I the last one!?"

"Because you were the loudest. Any objections?" She took her claw out of the floor, her eyes glaring at them with anger.

"No ma'am," said the Troopers in unison.

"Good. Now get going. And don't EVER wake me up again."

She turned her heels and went back to her room. After a few seconds, the boys finally moved and once Ryo stepped inside the bathroom, Shuu turned to Shin.

"She looked pretty angry."

"Well, we were kind of noisy."

"She didn't have to be so mean," Shuu added with a pouting face. "Nasuti is used to it."

"Of course. She bought earplugs to sleep when we're around."

"Hn. Still, I don't see why she had to be like that. I wonder what kind of guy can actually put out with her? Not me, that's for sure!"

An hour and a half later, the morning routine was over for everyone. When the subject of school came up, the girls were surprised to learn they were all going at the same school. The school was big indeed, but they thought they knew more or less everyone in their grade. Or at least, knew the faces. But they were told why: they couldn't know Shin for he was a year ahead of them due to his age; Shuu and Seiji were studying in the sports section of school to hone their skills in martial arts and kendo respectively; Ryo was never one to be noticed during social events and was rather a calm individual at school and Touma's name was often mentioned at school because of his brain but his schedule was rather different from everyone else's because he was following more advanced classes since spring with other brilliant students so that was keeping him from being around the rest of the school.

"Wow, no wonder you guys didn't see each other often," said Rin who was in a much better mood now after a shower and a good warm breakfast.

"Yes, said Shin as he gave a glance to his watch. But we better get going now or we'll miss the bus and be late for school."

"Wait, wait! We have to get our charms Azhure made us!" Aikyo claimed. "We don't want that creepy guy after us, do we?"

"Good point," Seiji replied. "She must still be in her room. Let's go ask her to give them to us."

The group went upstairs and Aikyo knocked gently on the door before asking permission to enter. When no one reply to her demand, she slowly opened the door, calling gently Azhure, only to find her asleep on her chair, head on the desk, with her magic book floating around her. She was unsure about stepping further in the room and before she could say anything, Rin walked right in. She tried to not make too much noise, figuring Azhure must have worked all night on the charms. Once at her side, she looked at the desk and found them. Star crystal shaped amulets with a colored letter in each of them. She took them carefully and noticed Azhure was clutching to a dark blue ribbon in her hand. Rin narrowed her eyes to see more clearly and as she was reaching for it, the book went nuts. It started to hit her on the head.

"Ow! Ok! I'm so—OW! Ok! Ok! I'm out of here!!"

"I knew we should have asked her permission before entering her room," Aikyo told Rin when the later ran out of the room and slammed the door shut.

"I think even an earthquake wouldn't be able to wake her up," replied Rin with a know-it-all look. She handed over the guys's charms to Ryo and gave Aikyo hers. Ryo distributed the charms and was left with Touma's.

"Leave it on his desk, near his books. He won't miss it that way," Seiji told him. Ryo nodded and went to the room to do so.

"Guys, we better hurry up. It's getting really late now," warned Shin, his eyes on his watch.

"Relax, Shin! We'll be fine, really!" said Shuu with his usual grin.

"Anyway, be careful with those things," said Aikyo. "They look kind of fragile."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let's get going!" just said Shuu.

And off they went. They walked down the road next to the lake and at the end, took the bus that was leading them to the city. In truth, they were all a bit nervous and jumpy, expecting an attack at any time. Rin almost knocked down an old lady who tripped on her, thinking it was a shadow creature while Ryo scared a couple of kids who kept screaming at the cars in the back of the bus, yelling "Go back! Go back! AAAAAAH! TOO CLOSE!" (though this action was very well welcomed by the other passengers who were about to slap the kids or duck taped them).

"I think those charms are working," finally said Seiji. They were getting out of the bus to take another one who will take them to school. "I have to say that I am impress after what she told us yesterday."

"Don't be too hard on her, Seiji," Ryo told him. "I'm sure she's trying her best."

"Her best isn't enough, Ryo. That guy has been on the run for three years and she still didn't manage to stop him. I don't have much hope about our own future. We can't lose those armors. Think of what he'll do if he does get his hands on them."

The thought actually scared Ryo but he didn't say anything. The memories of their battles came back to him and he tried to imagine what would have become of the world if Arago did get their armors. He did his best to focus on the present and to be happy that everything turned out alright but sometimes, that would keep him up at night. He watched Shin and Shuu who were walking ahead of them with the girls. They didn't seem to worry at all. He envied them.

"It will be alright, Seiji. We won't let her fight alone. We'll find a way to defeat that guy."

Seiji nodded and suddenly grabbed onto the pillar next to him. The ground started to shake violently. Ryo cursed and threw himself to the ground and yelled at the others to do the same. Shin and Shuu grabbed the girls and protected them with their own bodies. Shin kept an eye to the sky. Blocks of the buildings around them started to fall to the ground. Cars crashed into each other and people screamed and ran, trying to find shelter. Shin looked up and screamed at Shuu to get out of the way. Both boys took the girls in their arms and jumped away just in time to avoid a massive block of cement. He then screamed at Ryo and Seiji to move as well but they were already out of sight, a pile of rumble was now where they once stood. He screamed their names but the rumble of the earthquake was now so intense that he couldn't hear his own voice. He held Aikyo close to him and kept his eyes open to dodge more blocks. The earthquake finally stopped, several minutes after it started.

Shuu opened his eyes and could barely believe what he saw. The street was split into two, pipes completed revealed and most of them were cracked open. The buildings around them were still firmly standing but had suffered major damage. He searched for his friends and found Aikyo and Shin who were looking for Ryo and Seiji. He looked down at Rin.

"You okay?" he asked her. She nodded and he helped her up when she screamed "THE KID!"

He looked where she was pointing and saw child crying in the street, calling out for his mother and there was a trunk, out of control, driving down directly to him. He didn't have much time to think and so he ran to the kid, jumped over the deep crack in the middle of the street and grabbed the kid before jumping again to avoid the trunk. He landed roughly on the sidewalk, protecting the kid from the fall.

_Ow… That's going to leave a mark._

He sat up and checked on the child. He was startled then started to cry again but luckily, he was not injured. Shuu sighed and grinned. The poor kid must have been scared to death. He saw a woman ran toward them and kneeled to hold her son. She thanked him over and over again, so much it actually embarrassed him. He looked across the street and waved to Rin. She was smiling to him and giving him the thumbs up. Grinning, he stood up and heard the typical sound of broken glass. His grin quickly vanished and as he reached for his pocket, it was replaced by an expression that meant clearly "I screwed up". Rin saw him pulled out the broken pieces of his charm and couldn't help but scream "YOU IDIOT!" But it was too late. A tall man with silver hair appeared in front of Shuu and was now grinning at him.

"Well, well well… Look who couldn't help but play the hero," said Silver. "And destroyed the protection I'm sure the girl worked so hard to build for you all night. I bet she's too tired to even realize you broke it. You're all mine, boy."

"Geez, even in public you're a real windbag," commented Shuu.

"SILENCE! I don't care if mortals see me. All that matters is you and no one can help—"

Silver fell on the ground, face first, with a huge bump on the head. Shuu looked on the other side of the street and saw Rin dusting off her hands before joining him. She grabbed his hand and forced him up.

"Don't just stand there! You want him so badly to get up?"

"I surely don't. Let's run!"

Without even glancing at Aikyo or Shin, they ran down the street. Rin was holding Shuu's hand very tightly. Shuu could tell she was stressed by the sweaty hand that was holding his. Even if he was a good runner himself, she was a bit faster than him but he managed to follow her, without slowing their pace. The tomboy didn't know where she was going but knew it was away from the sorcerer. With all the panic that was already in the streets, she hoped they would be able to lose him easily. She also hoped that her charm would be able to hide him.

"Don't let go of me," she told him, after they stopped and hide in a dark alley, six blocks away from where they left the sorcerer. "Maybe my charm can hide us both."

"I doubt it. Azhure did make one for each of us."

"True but it wouldn't have been easy to have one charm for the whole group, right?"

"Your point being?"

"A charm for each of us for independence. Not for power. Maybe if you don't let go of me, he won't find us. And we'll be able to go back home."

"Yeah. With this kind of earthquake, I guess we won't have school today."

"I'm sure Aikyo will cover us if school is still open. Shhh!"

Rin put her hand on Shuu's mouth. She was looking up during the whole conversation and she saw a shadow fly above their heads. She frowned. Maybe her theory was wrong. But they couldn't ask for help without risking the others and their powers. What could they do? She was so busy thinking of a way to escape that she didn't notice Shuu waving frenetically at her. When she felt something wet licking her hand, a small gasp escaped her lips and she removed her hand.

"Ewww! That's disgusting!"

"Shadow patrol!" Shuu yelled before grabbing back her hand and dragged them into the streets.

"What!? He let those creatures loose with all those innocents roaming the streets?!"

"We need to find a phone!"

"Who are you going to call? Ghostbusters?"

"The only backup we have."

***

Nasuti was already up when the phone rang. After the second ring, she took the phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Nasuti! Oh I'm so glad to hear you right now!" said a male voice.

"Shuu? What's going on? I thought you and the others were at school."

"We were going there but we got a problem. Listen, I really don't have much time so please, please listen carefully. You got to wake Azhure up. We need her!"

"You mean we!!!" said a faint female voice behind Shuu's voice.

"The charms are not working?" asked Nasuti with a hint of panic in her voice.

"Worst. Mine's already broken."

"WHAT!? Shuu Rei Fuan, you only got that for an hour and it's already broken?! What did you do? Wrestle with an elephant?!"

"Hey! Hey! That's unfair. I—"

"They're coming! Shuu!" said the female voice.

"Who's coming? Shuu? SHUU!!"

But only silence answered her…


	5. Chapter 5

From another world

Chapter 5: Foreign drink

Nasuti ran upstairs and hurried to Azhure's room. Little did she know that the magic book would attack her. However, she had seen lots of weird things since she became friends with the Troopers and this book wasn't nearly impressive. She managed to grab it and swiftly threw it inside the closet before shutting the door to keep it from getting out.

_Can't beat the undead I've met when __we were looking for the Jewel of Life, but that was weird enough._

Ignoring the noise the book was making in the closet, Nasuti went to Azhure's side. The magician didn't even stir. Actually, she was snoring, which was removing all the grace and manners she had shown so far to her and the others. But now was not the time to judge her pedigree and Nasuti started to shake Azhure, saying her name. She was very gentle at first, but as the minutes passed, she began to shake her more and more roughly and started to yell her name. That woke Touma up. He stepped in the room, in boxers, with his messy hair and his pillow under his arm and his eyes half closed still.

"What the heck is going on? Why are you beating her up for?" he asked Nasuti.

"Touma, you got to help me wake her up! Shuu broke his charm and I think Silver is after him! Or worst!"

"Worst…? Broken charm…?" He just stared at Nasuti for a few seconds before the information finally reached his brain. He gave her a horrified look and dropped his pillow on the floor. "What!? Are you sure?!"

"Yes, I am! Shuu just called! I think Rin he's with him."

"That idiot! What did he do to break it so fast!? Wrestle with an elephant?!"

"Yeah, this is what I asked him too but before he could answer me, I heard Rin yelled they were coming and he hung up."

"Who's they?"

"I don't know! Which is why I think something worst than Silver is after them! Now, will you help me here?!" She was holding Azhure by the collar and shaking her violently. But the light brown hair girl just kept snoring, undisturbed, a bit of drool in the corner of her mouth.

"She told me she might be as good as dead today because she worked on those charms all night. I don't think we can wake her up."

"Touma, this is NOT a choice. Only her can face that guy. Unless you wish to start cross-dressing so he can mistake you for her and to distract him long enough to save Shuu?"

"I don't have her sexy curves," he said without thinking. "It won't work."

Nasuti gave him a shocked look and dropped Azhure to the floor, but Touma ignored it. He was trying to find out a way to wake Azhure. To do that, they needed to know her but none of them did. So Touma thought about all the things she told them so far, trying to find out a flaw somewhere that would reveal something about her personality. After a long and deep reflection, he walked up to Azhure. He asked Nasuti to hold Azhure up. Nasuti blinked but followed his order. She wasn't sure where he was going so when she saw him put his hands on Azhure's chest, she slapped him. Or would have if Azhure didn't suddenly wake up and punched Touma in the face, screaming "PERVERT". The magician sent the archer flying across the room and fell on her knees.

"Oh… What's going on?" Azhure asked while holding her head. "What…time is it? What day are we?"

"I'm SO sorry about this! I promise you I'll punish him for what he did!" said Nasuti, kneeling at Azhure's side. "Though you did a good job about it."

"Wha…?" Azhure looked over to Touma who was sitting up, rubbing his cheek.

"Ow… That's going to leave a mark for a few days," he said. "At least, I still have all my teeth."

"Will someone answer my questions already?" asked Azhure a bit roughly. She hated to not have all the sleeping hours she needed after casting so much spells.

"Yes, sorry. Shuu broke his charm you did for him last night and Silver is after him. You got to help him!" Nasuti told her.

"… He broke his charm?"

"Yes."

"The one I did last night?"

"Yes…"

"And now, you want me to save his clumsy butt?"

"Yes. Please…"

"Just look at me. I'm pissed from lack of sleep and I can barely think straight. I can't fight Silver like this. Not without killing myself or anyone else. Those charms require a LOT of energy and I need sleep to regain what I've lost."

"Well, there is a way to keep you awake long enough to help my friend," stated Touma.

"How? Nothing can cure lack of sleep," said Azhure between two big yawns.

"Nasuti?"

"Yes, Touma?"

"Start the expresso machine…"

***

No matter where they ran, the shadows were always finding them. Rin didn't dare to hide among the running crowd in fear the crazy magician would unleash his creatures on innocent people. Moreover, they couldn't escape to another neighborhood because she thought it would make it more difficult for Azhure to find them.

_If they managed to wake her up_, she thought.

They were now hiding in an empty dumpster in a half lighten alley. Shuu was breathing heavily next to her, his hand squeezing hers tightly and his ears alert to any suspicious sound around them. His usual goofy look was now replaced by a serious and combative look. She had mixed feelings about this: she knew he was ready to fight them even in this condition but hiding was the best answer. However, she wanted to face those things as well. Badly. Sadly, she knew the moment she would let go of Shuu's hand, Silver would come down on them. Even if her charm couldn't completely hide Shuu's presence to the eyes of long haired man, it was enough to make it difficult for him to pinpoint his exact location. She just hoped Azhure would find them in time.

A few kilometers from there, Shin finally found Ryo and Seiji. Both boys geared up when the massive building block fell on them and avoided it thanks to the extra speed their subarmor was giving them.

"You really gave me a scare there. I was sure you were crushed by that thing," Shin told them with a smile.

"Don't be silly, Shin," answered Ryo. "If Arago couldn't get rid of us, do you really think something has simple as a 700 pounds of concrete would?"

"You guys are overly confident," said Aikyo, rolling her eyes to the sky again. "That's going to be your downfall someday."

"Where are Shuu and Rin?" asked Seiji as he was looking around.

"Good question," answered Aikyo as she looked around. She knew she heard Rin yelled a few minutes earlier but she thought she was just yelling at Shuu so she didn't bother going back and thought it was much more important to look for the missing Troopers. But now, she had second thoughts. What kind of friend was she for leaving her best friend behind like this?

Without a word, she ran back to where she last saw her friend. She took a look around and called out her name but no one answered. On the other side of the street, there was small crowd around a little boy and its mother. Aikyo didn't pay much attention to them until she heard the words "silver hair". She hurried to the other side, after going around the huge crack in the middle of the street.

"Excuse me," she asked to a young man who was part of the crowd. "Did you see someone with silver hair?"

"Well," started the young man, "not exactly. But some people did. They say he appeared out of nowhere and talked to the guy who saved that boy." He pointed to the crying little boy. Aikyo took another look at the boy and she noticed broken glass near him. Making her way to it, she kneeled down and took some parts of it. She could feel the magic left in the pieces and saw some orange between the curves inside the glass.

"Do you know what happened next?" she asked him urgently.

"Er… Not sure but I think some girl knocked the silver dude out and ran away with the other guy."

_Rin…_

"Aikyo!"

She looked across the streets and saw Shin waving at her before jumping over the gap along with Seiji and Ryo. She hurried to them and shown them pieces of the broken charm. Seiji frowned immediately and after Aikyo told them what she heard, the three Troopers looked at each other.

"We have to help them," Ryo said.

"But we don't know where they are," replied Shin.

"Then we have to split up and search for them the old way," said Seiji.

"And what about me?" asked Aikyo, arms folded on her chest. The boys looked at each other again. "Don't give me the 'We can't put you in danger' speech. My friend is also in danger so I'm coming and that's that."

"Oh fine," Ryo told her. "Shin, you carry her around."

"Alright."

"Wait a minute. Carry around? I don't like the sound of this…"

***

Unfortunately, the dumpster ended up like any of their other previous hideouts: the shadows discovered it. Shuu and Rin managed to get out before a sticky shadow slide inside but they were quickly surrounded. Slowly, the shadows get closer to them.

"Rin, we have no choice. I have to call out my armor!" Shuu told her as he was taking out his orb.

"Looks like it," she replied at the same time her claw got out. "We're out of options and the rescue team is late!"

"Hang on!"

Shuu geared up, took Rin in his arms and, using the walls as support, he jumped his way up to the roof. He looked and saw the shadows stick themselves to the wall and crawled up.

"Man, those things don't know when to give up," Shuu groaned.

He started to jump from rooftop to rooftop. That brought back some memories to him, to the time he was fighting Arago the first time with the others. Roof jumping was something they did quite often back then. He grinned, jumping faster and faster. Rin had her arms around his neck and kept looking around to see if Azhure or Silver were around. But no luck.

However, they didn't know how lucky they were. Because Silver spotted another couple that was doing roof jumping and it wasn't them. It was Shin and Aikyo. Rin's guess was right: he couldn't pinpoint their exact location but he was able to sense both of them since she was sharing her protection with Shuu. He sent his shadow jellies out in hope they would finally get out of the streets and make it easier for him to spot them. So he was floating in the sky and scanned the rooftops, waiting for a sign of them. But instead of seeing the couple he was looking for, he saw another one. He grinned.

"Can't you move a bit slower? I'm going to be sick…"

"If I go any slower, I'll miss my jump and we'll both be squishy jelly on the sidewalk."

"Ugh… All this ups and downs are not good for my stomach but I'll try to hang on…"

Shin looked down at her and smiled. Silver took that time to create a shield in front of him. Shin never saw it and hit it at full speed during mid jump. He bounced against it and he and Aikyo flew back and landed on the roof, half knocked up. Silver flew down to them, laughing.

"That's my lucky day. I was looking for the clown and I ended up finding you instead," he told them.

"What? How…?" asked Shin.

"Those charms make you invisible to my magic eye only. I'm not blind," Silver answered with a flat tone. "It's not hard to spot people jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Humans don't do that usually."

_Still talking too much_, Shin thought. He got up and stood protectively in front of Aikyo who was also getting up. Silver just laughed.

"What do you think you can do against me? You were powerless before and you're still powerless now. Just give me your powers willingly and you won't be harmed."

"No. This armor is under my responsibility. I didn't give it to Arago and I'm not going to give it to you."

"Don't know that Araguy but as you wish." Silver's hands started to glow. "I like it when people choose the hard way. It's funnier to see their expression when I do this!"

He raised his hands in the air and cast a spell that came right toward them in form of two glowing balls of light. Shin quickly put his hand on Aikyo's lower back and pushed her away before bracing himself as the two balls hit him. The pain was unbearable. He screamed out in pain as he felt that every cell of his body were about to break up. Before passing out, he could hear Silver's laugh and saw his subarmor vanished.

Silver held out his hand and the orb of Suiko floated directly to him. He grinned. The orb felt cold at the touch but he could sense the power emitting from it. It was the first time he got a hold of a magical item instead of raw power. He wondered what it could do, how to use it and what the others could do. His eyes glanced at Shin's body. The boy was still alive. Maybe he could use him to reveal the secret of his armor.

But he was soon distracted by Aikyo who hurried to Shin's side. He never thought he could feel that way about someone. She was such a graceful and spirited young lady. Nothing like the tomboy princess he had to deal with for the last three years. He could tell this young lady was one in a million. Unique. He liked that trait. She was as special as him. He wanted her.

"BOMB'S AWAY!!!" screamed a woman above his head. He looked up and saw Azhure falling on him, legs held back by her arms so she could fall on him with her knees first, followed by Touma in subarmor. Both came out from a magical portal. The shock was so unexpected and brutal that he let go of the orb when he crashed on the ground under Azhure's and Touma's weights.

"Azhure?! Touma!? What are you doing here!?" asked a confused Aikyo.

Azhure did a fancy back flip to get off Silver's back and landed in front of Shin and Aikyo with a huge grin on her face while Touma just simply moved away before doing the same. Silver's body twitched a bit.

"Come ON, old man! Get up!!" Azhure urged him. "Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon!"

"What's wrong with her?" Aikyo asked Touma, blinking confusingly at Azhure.

"I think she drank too much expresso," he answered with a sweatdrop.

"How much?"

"Well…"

"Touma, I said how much?"

Touma shyly showed her five fingers.

"Five expressos? You gave her FIVE expressos?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"Look, desperate situation requires desperate measure, ok?"

"Yeah but now we have a wannabe hero magician girl high on coffee! How's that supposed to help us?!" She blinked at him. "And what happened to your face?"

"Long story…" Touma answered with a sigh. He saw Shin's orb shone near the edge of the rooftop. As he went to get it, Silver suddenly jumped back on his feet.

"This orb is MINE!!" he yelled. He clutched his fist and a shadow rose from under the orb and swallowed it.

"Dammit! Give it back!" growled Touma.

"Alright! It's fighting time!!" said a psyched Azhure. She immediately reached for her sais, got them out and attacked Silver.

"W-Wait! I'm not ready!!" pleaded Silver. He managed to dodge her first strike but she came back right at him. The evil magician didn't know what to do. It was the first time he ever saw his rival so excited about a battle. She usually had a serious and severe expression all the time. This new face of her just unbalanced him. Her reflexes and moves were the same but she was now improvising their combinations. Every time he opened his mouth to talk, he had to dodge a sai strike, a flipping kick or an offensive spell.

"Listen…" he started, dodging another series of her attacks. "I'm sure…that we can…discuss this—" He was suddenly cut by a fireball that he received square in the face.

"Woo-ooh!! Bull's eye, baby!!" screamed Azhure with a nice victory pose.

"ARGH!! That's it! You're going down, girl!!" yelled Silver, sweeping the blackness away from his face before attacking Azhure with everything he had.

Meanwhile, on the roof, Shin was still out, Aikyo was trying to wake him up and Touma was now molesting a jelly shadow for Suiko's orb with his arrows and, out of anger, his bow but with no success. Ryo arrived, soon followed by Seiji and the two of them just stared at the scene with utterly silence.

"Are…we going to ask them what's going on?" demanded Ryo to Seiji, pointing at them all.

"Something tells me it would be too long to explain," answered Seiji with a sweatdrop. "Let's just help Touma with the blob creature."

Seiji walked to Touma and gently grabbed his wrist as the blue haired boy was about to use his special move on the monster. He asked Touma to step back and let him handle things from there. Touma nodded, gave a last glare at the creature which seemed to make fun of him and watched Seiji made his armor appeared. With one slash of his sword, the shadow was destroyed and Shin's orb fell onto the ground. Seiji kneeled down to take it but before he could touch it, he received Azhure's body in the face and fell over. When he opened his eyes, his nose was in her breasts. The boy froze there, his face turning bright red.

"Can't a bad guy STEAL something without any trouble?" asked a very mad Silver before stealing back the orb.

"Let me think about it," replied Azhure who quickly jumped back to her feet. "No."

"It was a rhetorical question. Anyway, I'll be back for the others!" And on this, he laughed evilly before vanishing.

"Damn," said Ryo. "He was able to get away. We're in trouble now…"

"Hey! No problem! It's just one orb! I'll get it back! Let's go home and tell Rin, Shuu and Nasuti the news!" said an undisturbed Azhure.

"Wow. She's cheerful alright," Ryo told Touma.

"I guess she's so used to lose that it doesn't bother her anymore," answered the blue warrior.

"What happened to your face?"

"Long story…"

"Alright… Why is she so hyper then?"

And Touma told Ryo the story about the expressos while they were helping Seiji with his nosebleed. Ryo said he hoped Azhure would calm down but unfortunately for all of them, the effect of the expressos lasted three days on her.


	6. Chapter 6

From another world

Chapter 6: Guy talk

When he opened his eyes, his body was still aching as if he did hours worth of exercise. He never imagined having his armor stripped away from him would hurt that much. Despite the fact that he felt naked without it, he felt somehow relieved to not have this cursed armor with him anymore. However, he also felt he failed to fulfill his duty.

"Hey, there… How are you feeling?"

Shin turned his gaze from the ceiling to the speaker and noticed Seiji at his side. The blond teenager looked a little tired but gave him nonetheless a warm smile.

"I've felt better," he answered him. He didn't even try to sit up. He was scared the pain would be worst if he tried to move.

"Sorry for all the yelling. I hope that didn't wake you up," said Seiji with a small sweatdrop.

It was only after Seiji mentioned him this that he finally heard Aikyo talking, or rather arguing, loudly to Shuu. He looked at the door and saw Aikyo's back. She was telling Shuu he couldn't get in and that he should feel ashamed about his carelessness. Shuu sounded really sorry but for Aikyo, it was not enough. She ended the argument by telling him she would let him in once Shin would feel better and closed the door at his face to make sure he understood that he couldn't try to negotiate the terms. After a loud sigh, she turned around and saw that Shin was awake.

"Oh… I'm sorry about that. Hmmm… Did I…wake you up?" she asked him shyly.

"No. It was only after Seiji mentioned it to me that I noticed the yelling."

"I'm really sorry about that," she said with a small wince. "It's not to punish him. I really believed you needed rest and calm to fully recover. A crowded room wouldn't have helped. I can tell him to come in if you want."

"It's alright. I think he must feel guilty enough and seeing me like this won't help. I'll talk to him later."

"So…how are you feeling?" she asked him as she took a sit next to Seiji. She also looked tired.

"Like I was hit by a train. How about you two? You look terrible."

"It's Azhure," said Seiji with a sigh. "She's still very high on caffeine. She lets us sleep at night but her presence is just very…demanding."

"She's totally psycho on caffeine," just said Aikyo. "It's been three days now. I asked Touma to take care of her until she calmed down since it was HIS idea to fill her with coffee!"

"Okay," said Shin calmly. "And why was she on coffee?"

Aikyo explained how Shuu managed to contact Nasuti and the whole situation that leaded to Azhure's present condition. She also told him how she fought Silver and still managed to lose his orb but seemed unaffected by defeat. Seiji said it was probably due to the caffeine coursing through her veins and she will soon feel the sad feeling of defeat. He also added that the situation could have been worst if Touma hadn't woke Azhure up since she managed to find Shuu and Rin and took them home to hide them before going after Silver.

Shin then suddenly sat up in the bed, hit by a horrible thought. He winced but shook his head when Aikyo told him to lie back down. The pain was not as horrible as he imagined and concluded he better move a little to help his body to feel better.

"Will you lie down? Unless you want me to force you?" threatened Aikyo.

"Wait, Seiji. Did you ever think of the consequences if Silver gets his hand on all our orbs?"

"Yes. We all thought of it," answered Seiji with a frown. "But besides us five and Nasuti, none of them know."

"Know about what?" asked Aikyo. "You better spill it out. If it's important, then we must know!"

"Our armors have a special ability," started Shin. "We can combine our powers to create another one that is much more powerful than any of our armors."

"And you're telling me this NOW?!" Aikyo had a sudden urge to break something. She couldn't believe those boys kept such important information from her and the girls.

"We thought we had time to figure out a strategy to defeat him before he actually gets his hand on one of our armors," said a stoic Seiji.

"Just great…" sighed the girl.

"If we can protect Ryo's armor, we can prevent him to form Kikoutei," said Shin. "And maybe Ryo can still form Kikoutei—"

"No. We shouldn't be too hasty to show our enemy the existence of this armor," cut Seiji. "It's our last ace. For now, he only sees them as artifacts of power. Let's let him think that. We'll tell Azhure about this," he said to Aikyo. "I promise."

"Yes well, not now. She's not in condition to think about this right now," Aikyo answered.

***

Shuu walked downstairs with his head lowered. Each time his foot touched the step, it sounded like a rock crashing into the sidewalk. He couldn't help but think Aikyo was right to treat him like this, no matter how much he tried to convince himself that she was wrong to be so mean. It was his fault if his friend was hurt. His fault his armor was stolen. His fault they couldn't rely on Kikoutei anymore to fight Silver. He felt horrible.

His feet took him to the living room where Azhure and Rin were playing a video game. He crashed on the sofa, next to Touma who was reading another book. The blue hair boy didn't even glance at him.

"Rejected again?" he asked Shuu.

Shuu, his head still lowered, nodded. He glanced up to the girls. Video games, more specifically fighting games, were the only thing that kept hyper Azhure under control but she needed someone to play with since she was too bad to play against the computer. The first time, they thought they could escape the second player mode but after she lost ten times to the first fighter, she was about to blow up the console. So, they've been playing with her for the last three days and everyone couldn't wait to see her finally coffee-free. Only Touma seemed calm about the whole situation.

"I'm sure she will let you in eventually. Did you apologize?"

"Hundred of times already."

"It's only a matter of time now."

"You keep saying that," said Shuu with a frowning face. "I feel no sympathy from you."

"Why should I? You saved a kid's life but busted your charm. Any of us would have done the same thing. You did what you had to do."

"That's not making me feel any better."

They sat there quietly, both lost in their own thoughts. Shuu was wondering how he could convince Aikyo to let him see Shin while Touma was trying to figure out the motive of the murderer in his book. Only the voices of the girls filled the living room until Shuu opened his mouth again.

"You never told us how you managed to wake Azhure up," he asked Touma. He noticed his friend twitched his left eyebrow but that was his only physical reaction.

"It's not very important, really."

"Well, she's been up and barely sleeping since she drank those expressos so I assume she will sleep like the dead for a while after that. If another emergency happens while she's asleep, we'll need to know how to wake her up."

"The school has suffered heavy damage from the earthquake and no school can take any of us. All we have to do is stay here and do the pile of homework the teachers gave us to not fall behind too much," said Touma as he reached for his tea cup to take sip.

The wheels started to turn inside Shuu's head. He did ask Nasuti how they managed to wake Azhure up and she sounded very offended when she told him to ask Touma. Then, there was that slap mark on Touma's cheek…

"You grabbed her boobs, didn't you?"

The reaction was instantaneous. Touma spitted out the tea he was sipping and Rin immediately turned around and gave both guys a deadly glare. Shuu could see the fire burning in her eyes and for the first time, he was afraid of a girl.

"Azhure," said Rin in a cold tone. "Why don't you go outside practice your sai technique while I talk to these gentlemen?"

"Huh? Ok but what should I do? No one wants to spare with me."

"Go cut the leaves that fell from the trees in two or something like that."

"Oh! That's such a good idea! I'll start that right away!" replied an overly excited Azhure. She opened the window, grabbed her sais and jumped out.

"I knew you did something funny to her!" almost screamed Rin to Touma. "That mark on your cheek and how Nasuti answered me when I asked her what you did to wake her up!"

"It was an emergency! I hadn't thought of anything else! It's not like I had fun doing that!" said Touma to defend himself. He stood up with an angry look on his face and glared back at her but he soon noticed that she and Shuu gave him an odd look. "What?" he asked them.

"I'm still angry about what you did but…you did not take ANY pleasure in doing this? None at all?" asked Rin.

"Yeah, buddy," said Shuu. "I'm not saying you're a pervert and I'm sure there was not another motive behind your idea but surely it was nice, no?"

"Look, I did that just to wake her up, ok? I did not have the time to think how soft her breasts were or how big they were! We needed her wide awake and I was able to do that. End of story."

"Oh man… I thought Seiji was one but I would never think YOU were one," Rin said with a grin.

"A what?" asked Touma, raising an eyebrow.

"You're gay."

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah. You had no pleasure touching a girl's body. You're surely gay."

While Shuu did his best to not burst out laughing, Touma's eye twitched which was a clear sign that something snapped in his mind. He was torn between two choices: yelling or just walk out of the room. Shuu and Seiji once made fun of him this way because he was into his studies so much he never noticed girls. He beat them up senseless and none of them ever touched the subject again. Rin was a girl and although she liked to act like a man, he couldn't bring himself to hit her. There was only one thing to do.

His fists were firmly closed at his side. He even squeezed them tighter when he realized he had to do this. Sadly, he knew the consequences would be painful but he had to say it or he would never hear the end of it thanks to Shuu. He whispered it at first but after a couple of times, Rin still couldn't hear him out so he took a deep breath and said loudly:

"They were soft," he said, blushing heavily. He couldn't believe he actually said it out loud.

"Ok. So?" asked Rin with her arms folded on her chest.

"And…I liked it, ok?"

He saw it coming but didn't try to stop it. Rin's fist connected with his cheek and fell back on the couch. Shuu, who didn't find this funny anymore, jumped to his feet and grabbed Rin to calm her down. She struggled to be free but finally gave up and looked straight at Touma.

"Ow… Why did you do that? I said what you wanted to hear, didn't I?"

"I'm doing what her big brother would have done if he was still here," she told him.

"Like I said, it was an emergency. I thought since she was a princess from a matriarchal society, something like that would wake her up. And of course I liked it! I'm man and she's a nice looking woman. I tried to stay rational but even I can't deny who I am. And she did slap me back so I don't see the point of hitting me again." He whipped some blood away from his mouth.

"Did you apologize? Did you explain yourself to her?" she asked him.

"Well…no." He blinked at her, surprised by this question.

"If Shuu wasn't holding me, I would hit you again for that! You better find her and apologize!"

"But she's in the woods practicing…"

"NOW!"

Touma sighed and left to find Azhure. When he closed the door behind him, Shuu loosen his grip on Rin and she freed herself with a shoulder nudge.

"You were too hard on him," Shuu told to the tomboy with a frown. "You didn't have to hit him."

"He did something unforgivable to a nice girl. I couldn't let him get away with it."

"But he did tell you why."

"But he didn't apologize to her. He should have. It's been three days now. Besides, he should have thought that if someone was looking out for her, if her brother was still alive, he would have received a punch anyway."

"You're not her brother."

"True but I can watch over her." She saw Shuu's puzzled and smiled to him. "I know it sounds silly and weird but…I want to do something for her. She's so lonely and she's working so hard for us. Aikyo told me after the battle, Azhure did not seem affected by the lost of the orb and everyone thought it was because she was too excited to worry about anything at the moment. But later, the same night she tended to Shin's wounds, Aikyo found her in the garden, crying." She turned her gaze to him. "Don't you see? High on coffee or not, defeat is still hard on her but she pretended it was nothing to us, probably to not make us worry. But she has no one to tell her things will be alright, that everything is not lost. There's no one she can lean against. She's all alone. And we keep depending on her. It's unfair!"

Rin was surprised to hear herself talk so much. Moreover, tears were starting to fill her eyes. She felt a little silly and turned away from Shuu to avoid him to notice them. There was a silence and after a minute, Shuu put his hand on her shoulder. She slowly turned around, her eyes all dry again, and looked at him.

"Then I'll watch over her too," he said with a smile. "I'll be her big brother here. I already have four younger siblings back home. I'm well-suited to be her old brother. Besides, I do owe her a favor for saving us after my mistake."

"You know," said Rin after a small silence. "You're not such an idiot after all. I'll try to convince Aikyo to let you in to see Shin."

"Huh?"

"Just make sure to obey her in the room. She likes to feel in control when she plays nurse." She left him with a wink before vanishing upstairs. Shuu stood there and a smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you…"

***

He has been looking for her for thirty minutes before finding her in a small clearing behind Nasuti's house. It was very deep in the woods and he was thankful that he didn't forget to take his charm before leaving the house. However, he was expecting to see her jumping everywhere after leaves to cut them in half but instead, he found her kneeled down in the middle of the clearing. He called out to her and saw her lifted her hand. She then stood up and turned to him.

"I wasn't expecting you. What is it? You want to spare with me?"

"Hmm… No. I'm here for another reason."

"Yes?"

"Well," he said, clearing his throat. "You know, how I woke you up a few days ago… I…wanted to apologize for that. I know it was an emergency but…well…not a reason for me to abuse of you like I did. I mean…touching…you…err…"

"If I remember correctly, I did punch you for that. So that's all forgotten already."

"Oh good. I was afraid to get another punch."

"Consider yourself lucky. My brother would have killed you."

She said that with such an innocent and cheerful tone that Touma wasn't sure how to react to this statement. He just smiled and said he was glad he got away with only a slap and apologized once again, promising it would never happen again.

"So, what were you doing? I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"Nah, I was meditating."

"I'm surprised you can mediate with so much coffee running through your veins."

"I couldn't actually. Come on! Be my sparring partner! Cutting leaves in half is boring! I got bored 20 minutes ago. It's too easy!"

He was about to refuse when the redness of her eyes caught his eye. Was she really meditating or crying? Or did the coffee started to leave her body and she was getting sleepy? He couldn't tell but just in case it was option B, he agreed.

They trained together for hours with their weapons only. Long after the sun hid behind the horizon, Touma brought back home a sleeping Azhure in his arms. He was still wearing his subarmor so she wasn't very heavy for him. By the way she looked, he could tell she was back to normal. He knocked on the door of the girls' room. She's been sleeping with them since Rin and Aikyo were worried about her sleeping all alone in house filled with guys. Aikyo opened the door and let him in.

"What happened to her?" she asked him with a yawn. Everyone was mostly in bed at this hour.

"She wanted a sparring partner to train so we trained until she couldn't move anymore. I think her coffee days are over," he whispered to her, making sure to not wake Rin up.

"That's good news. She needs to rest."

Touma nodded and put Azhure on the bed they've made for her. After tucking her, he stopped in front of Aikyo's dresser on his way out. He looked closer to it and an evil grinned appeared on his lips.

"Say, do you mind if I borrow this from you?"

"Huh? What do you plan to do with that?"

"Let's just say I have a little vengeance I want to carry out on someone who keeps stealing my bed."

"I see… Well then, I'll pretend I didn't hear you and go back to bed. I probably won't notice it's gone and I'm sure I will find it on my desk sometime during the day tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"Ah-ah. I didn't hear you leaving either. Good night, Touma."

"Good night, Aikyo."

He left with the object in hand and closed the door silently before walking back to his room, ready to fulfill his vengeance at last.


	7. Chapter 7

From another world

Chapter 7: Amusement park

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!" screamed Ryo when he looked at himself in the mirror.

Nasuti immediately jumped out of bed and rushed to his side. She was about to ask him what was the matter but his face said it all: someone put a huge amount of make-up on his face. Girl make-up. Blush. Lipstick. You name it. The worst part was that it was a beautiful job. He really looked feminine. Princess-like even. Ryo hoped to have some comfort from Nasuti but the second she gazed upon his face, she burst out laughing. Her laugh was very closely followed by the ones of Shuu, Seiji and Rin.

"WHO DID THIS?!" he asked angrily. "This is NOT funny!"

"It IS. With the right hairdo and a dress, we could take you for a girl," commented Rin between two laughs. Man, she was glad she could escape the torture of make-up and cleaning up afterwards.

"Shuu! It's you, isn't it!?"

"Nope. Not me. How could I? I was sleeping before you came to bed."

"Touma…" whispered Ryo, suddenly realizing the blue-haired boy had the motive and, without a doubt, all the resources to pull this kind of prank. He filled a glass of cold icy water and went to their room. But Touma was not there. He started to look frenetically in the room, calling out his name.

"TOUMAAAAAAAAA!!! Wait until I get my hands on you! You'll---"

Water hit him with such might that he was thrown out of the window and crashed into the branches of the tree outside. He was able to hang himself to avoid a bad fall. He looked up and saw Aikyo with her long wavy and messy silver-blue hair falling at her sides like a cascade.

"Will you just SHUT UP?!" she yelled at him. "Azhure is FINALLY having a decent night of sleep. I am NOT letting you ruin it because you have a score to settle with Touma or whatever you want to do with him! Stay outside until you calmed down!"

On this, she shut the window tightly and went back to her room. Rin, Nasuti and the guys just watched her walking back to the girls' room and closed the door silently. The boys concluded they shouldn't fight for the bathroom this morning in case Aikyo decided to throw them in the lake next.

The morning passed then the afternoon came. Touma walked into the house around 2pm in his normal zombie state. When he saw that Ryo had still some mascara, he grinned. Ryo glared at him, walked up to him and grabbed his shirt.

"What's the big idea?" He watched his tone, just in case Aikyo was near. He was not looking forward to another cold shower.

"Just thought it would teach you to not take my bed," answered an undisturbed Touma. He had that innocent and I-don't-care look on his face. That only made Ryo angrier.

"You don't want to play this game with me," he told the blue warrior.

"Don't give me threats over this. It was just a joke to make you understand to not take my bed. I know you're sharing your room but that doesn't mean _I_ must sacrifice my bed for you."

"Well that would teach you to go to bed at 4am every night. I didn't want you to step on me while you reached your bed every night."

"Sleep closer to Seiji then!"

Rin shook her head. This argument was stupid and going nowhere. She didn't need a diploma in psychology to guess how things will end. Sighing, she walked back to her room to tell Aikyo to stay away from Ryo's and Touma's fight to avoid its backfire, only to find her dressing up Azhure like she was a doll.

"What are you doing?" she asked her after the element of surprise passed.

"What does it look like? I'm lending her some clothes. She can't walk around all the time with her own clothing. She'll be notice the second she steps out of the house."

"And why would that be important? We're not going anywhere…or are we?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Now that we are on the subject," started Aikyo but she was soon cut by Azhure.

"I'm going out to find Silver. You are all---"

"No! I don't want to hear that kind of talk again!" said Aikyo with a warning tone to Azhure. "We have enough wanna-be heroes here. You don't have to act like one."

Rin raised an eyebrow. Surely something happened while she was downstairs and she didn't like to be out of things. After some questioning, Aikyo finally admitted that she and Azhure had a talk about how things were going and she decided –not they– that everyone needed some time off instead of worrying about a self-proclaim evil doer with a stupid name roaming in the city. Rin argued but she was tired to stay indoors and some group activity could help with the tension in the group.

"Alright then. Where did you think we should go?" she asked her friend.

"To the amusement park of course," answered Aikyo with an innocent smile.

"Fine, but she's not coming dressed like this!" Rin pointed to Azhure who was wearing a simple summer dress. "She's a fighter. She needs pants." And a fashion war broke out with poor Azhure caught in the middle of it…

***

"I still think that's a bad idea," muttered Seiji.

"We might as well enjoy it since we're already here," commented Shin. "Come on, Seiji. Lighten up! And hang on!"

"I really hate rollER COASTERS!!!!!!" the blonde screamed as their wagon raced down the wooden hill. He held onto the bar tightly with his eyes squeezed shut. How in the world did he find himself here? Why anyone but him thought this was a bad idea? There were other ways to get rid of stress, like green tea, yoga and meditation. But no. They all had to pick the amusement park. _With Silver around and that lousy magician as a bodyguard, we won't--- DAMN! A loop! Noooo! I'm going to be sick! I'm going to be sick! Breathe… Breathe… You can control this… In… Out… In… Out… In… Out… Burp!_

"You think Seiji is going to be sick?" Shuu asked to Nasuti, watching the ride going around and about.

"Probably. You did force him to eat five burgers before going in there."

"Such a frail guy."

"Not everyone has a stomach like yours and Touma's."

"Speaking of whom, where is Touma? And Ryo?"

"I believe they're still at the shooting range. Ryo really didn't like that joke from this morning."

Indeed, the two boys were glaring at each other and duelling at every single game stand they could find. The score was 3 to 2 for Touma but Ryo was not going to give up just yet. They were now fighting at the water pistols stand. Who would fill up the clown's mouth with the most water in the limited time? Now that was a challenge or so Touma thought. Just when he was aiming at the clown's mouth when Ryo turned his water pistol to him and fired it at Touma who was soon soaking wet. Touma quickly returned the favour and the clerk at the stand didn't know how to stop these two from fighting.

From a distance, the girls watched the scene. Aikyo was worried about it and so was Azhure. Rin thought this watching was unnecessary for the simple reason that boys are boys and sometimes, they solve their problems through a good fight. She tried many times to convince the girls to just leave these two be and enjoy their time off but it seems she wasn't convincing enough. She slurped her soda with a bored look when Ryo, out of anger, pushed Touma strongly enough to make the blue haired boy lose his balance and fell off. During the fall, the bracelet at his wrist got stuck in a loose nail of the stand and broke. Nothing that important one might think but since Shuu broke his charm by falling on it, Touma has been wearing his around his wrist. He thought the chances to break the bracelet were smaller than keeping it in his pockets.

Ryo and Touma watched with horror the star shaped charm fall to the ground, away from its keeper. The second it touched the ground, Silver appeared in front of Touma with a satisfied grin, grabbed the teenager and ran toward the house of horrors, leaving behind him a bunch of his usual slimy dark jelly creatures. He didn't give a look at Ryo before running off, too happy to have another yoroi bearer into his hands to look around and investigate the place for others. Or maybe he knew Azhure wasn't far off and just grabbed the first teen with power before running away.

Either way, he was gone and the succession of these events was so quick that for those who witnessed it, it felt as if it was done in slow motion and they were froze in place without the capacity to move or act to avoid the kidnapping. Soon, the people of the amusement park start running and screaming as the slimes crawled all over the place to attack whatever was in front of them.

"I guess Seiji's hunch was right after all," said Rin before tossing her empty soda glass aside.

"No time to fool around! Aikyo, get to Ryo and try to get him out of here! Rin, find the others and have Seiji cut your way out of here," said Azhure before dashing in the direction Silver went. Aikyo blinked and opened her mouth to complain but Azhure already gone. She turned her gaze to where Ryo was and him too was already gone, probably ran after Silver too.

"I swear that girl has teamwork issues!" growled the water magician. "She can't do everything by herself!"

"I'm starting to have a theory about her and Silver," said Rin who had already her claw out. "Let's just get to the others and then figure out what to do."

Aikyo nodded to her and they both started to look for the rest of the group. Most of the people were too afraid to notice them or Rin's claw. Aikyo even caught some water by passing the water pistols stand and had bubbles of water swirling around her, ready to be shot at slimes. It took them some time but they finally found Shuu and the rest of the group near a trash can. Seiji had his face in it while Shin, Shuu and Nasuti tried to keep the slimes away from them. With the help of his armour, Shuu finally make a large crack into the ground. The smiles were slow so it was enough to buy them some time.

"Shuu!" called Rin. "You guys are ok?"

"Hey Rin! Yeah, we're fine. Well, most of us…" replied the orange warrior as he turned his gaze to Seiji. Shin was now behind the blond teenager, holding back his hair to avoid it to be touched by the vomit that came out of the pretty boy's mouth.

"What's wrong with him?" asked a worried Aikyo. "Why is he so sick?"

"My guess is that he didn't like the roller coaster ride," answered Shuu.

"More like the five burgers he ate didn't survive the trip," replied Shin by rolling his eyes. "Now our only weapon against those creatures is pretty much useless. He ran out of the ride and was stuck to this trash can ever since. I don't think he has the strength to wield his sword."

"You got to be kidding me!" Rin exclaimed before letting her palm hitting her forehead. "There's no way we can help Azhure now and we'll probably lose Touma's orb because of this."

"That maniac has Touma?!" almost yelled Shuu. "Dammit! Where did he go?!"

"Forget it. We can't do a thing with Seiji in this state," replied Rin.

"But---"

"If we don't get you and Seiji out of here, he'll have more orbs. It hurts me to say this but we have to look for ourselves. Seiji is the only one who actually has a fighting chance among us and he's out. And why did he eat so many burgers anyway before going into a ride?! You boys can be so stupid!"

"Excuse me. What did you say…?" Shuu didn't like her tone of voice for one bit and the look Rin gave to him only made that statement worst.

"Enough!" Aikyo and Nasuti said in unison. They both separated Shuu and Rin.

"We don't have a choice then," finally said Shin as he pulled Seiji's head out of the trash can. "We're leaving Touma to Ryo."

"How do you know he went after him? Aikyo asked.

"Because he's not here and Ryo would never let any of us down," answered Shin with a bright smile. Seiji just moaned something about burgers and roller coasters. Shuu nodded at Shin but he gave an angry glare to Rin before the group left the park.

Meanwhile, in the house of horrors, Azhure walked silently inside. Foam bats fell of the ceiling, plastic glow in the dark skeletons behind a glass case and other not so horror things came on her way without her shouting or screaming even once. She had seen real zombies and real horrific monsters since she left home so these were nothing to her. It also gave her the chance to investigate the place without Silver knowing about her presence. It was going well until Ryo ran over her with his full armor on.

"Ow," she couldn't help to shout. Both of them fell on the ground, her under him. "What are you trying to do?!" she whispered to him, violently pushing him aside without much success. Ryo was quickly back to his feet.

"I'm going to help my friend. What does it look like?" he replied before running ahead. Azhure shake her head but quickly went after him as she heard Touma screamed from two rooms away. She knew too well she would too late again but she did her best to get there as soon as possible. She saw Touma on the ground, on his side, not moving. In front of him, Ryo, blinded by his rage and guilt, attacking Silver with everything he got.

No matter how much she wanted to fight back, she knew Touma would get hurt. Ryo's armor started to get hotter by the minute and the heat in the room started to be unbearable already. She pulled Touma away, his weight stopping her from actually lifting him up, and planted her sais to each side of him in order to create a force field to protect him from harm. Satisfied with her work, she jumped into the fight. Her hope was to actually pull Ryo away and get both boys out of there. But her plans were never meant to work the way she wanted.

Ryo had the upper hand on Silver. It was really something to see because Azhure never saw anyone with special abilities best him. With all the powers he absorbed from other people, he seemed unbeatable. So instead of taking the warrior away to safety, she boosted Ryo's armor by casting a fire spell on him, the strongest she had. She figured if they both could stop him here, if Ryo had indeed the strength to put an end to this nightmare, she wouldn't let that chance pass. It was a risky bet but she was ready to do it. For a couple of minutes, it worked. Ryo's strength was incredible and none of Silver's spell or attack was working. It's like the red warrior was immune to everything. The power of the mystical armor was indeed great. Until it met its opposite.

From his pocket, as if he knew what he was doing, Silver took out the orb of Suiko. The gentle blue orb shone his palm and before Ryo gave the decisive blow, Silver presented him the orb of Suiko. A big flash of blue light engulfed the room and the strong heat of the Rekka armor was washed away by a cold and strong wave of water, Shin's special attack. It struck Ryo with such might that half of the house of horror was destroyed and Ryo landed dozens of feet away from his original position, unconscious. Silver laughed.

"Well, would you look at that. I've won again it seems. Lucky me I understood their armors' weaknesses. You knew about it too, didn't you?" he told Azhure with a satisfied grin. The girl stepped back to where Touma laid on the ground. Her eyes didn't left Silver for a second. She was scared to death. And he could feel it.

"Did you really think I'm too dumb to not notice something like this? Armors created by some elements always have an opposite. These boys have elemental armors. You don't need a diploma in mystical armors to guess you need water to extinguish a fire armor." He tossed Shin's orb into the air and grabbed it back like it was a normal ball. He kept playing with it and then suddenly changed to Touma's orb.

"I really like this one. Reminds me of your brother. He loved dark blue, didn't he?" He stepped closer to Azhure. She only stepped back to Touma, still silent. "He is lucky. He didn't meet his fate. But you know, he is quite a fighter this one. He punched me, bite me, kicked me... Really, I wish I could have broken his little neck."

"No matter how much you gather power, I will beat you someday," Azhure whispered between her teeth. To her surprise, Silver laughed more. So much more he was holding his stomach. She felt like an idiot. "That was your cue to be scared you know!"

"Oh please," he said as he whipped a tear away from his eye. "You still think this is about you? My dear, I was after your brother that day. Not you. You were never important. A real thorn at my side since I paid a little visit to your home world but never important. My only regret is that I couldn't get the power your brother had."

"What...? But...but you said..."

"The power of the goddess speech? Come ON, girl. Any bad guy with some self-respect has a nice speech ready for every occasion. You see, I have an original script I adapt to the people I want to steal from, makes me look like a real baddy and ta-da! New powers absorbed! I still didn't figure out HOW to make a victory music played every time I get what I want however. I need to steal the power of a phonologist or something," he said, taking a semi-serious thinking pose. He started out to say out loud theoretical magic spells that could provide him with the musical effect he wanted but Azhure was no longer listening. All this time, she thought she was pursuing a man who wanted to kill her to get her power while all this time, he never cared about her. Still a question remained: how come he didn't get the power of her brother when he killed him? What happened to her after that? She couldn't remember. When she started this journey, she never thought this blank out was important, that she had to focus on the task at end. But now, it was imperative for her to remember what happened that faithful day.

But not today. Silver was so absorbed by his magical musical theme that he forgot about the third orb owner, Ryo. As quickly and silently as possible, she took back her sais, cast a small teleport spell for Touma and ran out of the remains of the house of horrors. From afar, she could see the red and blue light of the police cars getting nearer and the barks of police dogs. She was able to find Ryo and teleported him and her away from the park just before a team of police officers turned the corner of what used to be a candy stand.


	8. Chapter 8

From another world

Chapter 8: Old habits die hard

"What the HELL were you thinking?!" yelled Seiji at Azhure and Ryo.

"I said I was sorry," answered Azhure with a long sigh. "I thought we would be able to beat him."

"You lost Touma's orb and almost got Ryo killed in the process!" continued the green warrior. He didn't see himself lose his temper like this. Usually, no matter Shuu's stupid jokes or how messy Touma could be, Seiji would just laugh or make a joke. "What kind of strategy was that!?"

"Seiji, she wasn't all that bad! She actually boosted my armor's powers with her spell! If there was a time to beat him, it was then! But I couldn't! He used Shin's orb against me!" Ryo was, faithful to his character, fired up. Defeat was never easy to accept and more than anything, he felt responsible for what happened to Touma. To have Seiji lecturing him about the situation only made him angrier.

"Then we can conclude, said Shin as he interfered in an attempt to lower the tension between them, that our armors alone won't be enough to defeat him, even if they are in their element." The calmness and the steadiness of his voice calmed down the three warriors but not enough.

"So we're already too weak to beat him and without the two other orbs, we can't summon Kikoutei. You surely did it this time, Azhure," angrily said Seiji to the white magician.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked him with a frown. _And what that Kikoutei thing?_

"We wouldn't be in that situation if you weren't so careful about your own person. You never take any risk. You let us face the danger all alone. I'm starting to wonder if you're not working for that man!"

Azhure stood straight up, pushing her chair so hard that it fell on the floor on its back. People got mad at her a lot and she always tried hard to get use to it because she was aware of her own weakness against Silver but being accused to work with him was the only thing she never wanted to accept.

"He killed everyone I cared about and you dare to THINK about the POSSIBILITY of me working with HIM?!"

"Wake up, _princess_," Seiji told her as he leaned forward with an angry look. "You've been after him for years and he always escaped. Coincidence?"

"TAKE IT BACK!" screamed Azhure who hit the table with all her might with her fist.

"SEIJI!!" screamed Shin and Ryo together, the latter being ten times louder than the first.

"You're so preoccupied by your own safety that you never put your life on the line for others! You don't take this seriously and we're supposed to depend of you!" continued Seiji, his tone as accusing as ever.

"Well if you're so perfect, where were YOU when we needed you?!!?" And on this, Azhure stormed out of the kitchen, ran to her room and slammed the door behind her.

"Running away is not going to solve the problem! Azhure! We're not done here!" But Seiji's reply only had for answer Ryo's hands smashing the table before his footsteps took him outside.

***

Touma quickly sat up in his bed as he heard the door slamming. He looked around him, panicked for his only memory was Silver's face over his, taking away his armor. When Shuu put his hand on his shoulder, Touma jerked up a little before fully realizing he was home and safe.

"Calm down, Touma. You're home. Steady breathing alright?" the tough guy told him with a warm smile. It was only then that Touma realized he was almost out of breath for breathing so heavily and took a couple of deep breaths before actually relax.

"What happened?" he asked his friend.

"You tell me," answered Shuu with a shrug. He leaned back on his chair, arms behind the back of the chair and he let a long sigh go. "But the result is this: you lost your orb and Azhure and Ryo failed to defeat Silver to retrieve it. We're in trouble now. Kikoutei is out of our reach unless we find a way to contact the Mashos but considering we never saw them since we defeated Arago..."

"Maybe it's for the best. We can't let that guy get his hands on other sources of power. Let's just hope our armors won't tell him the existence of the other four."

"Yeah but... Geez, Touma, you sure you ok? Shin could barely move when he woke up and he was out for days."

The blue hair warrior blinked. His body felt fine. He moved his arms and felt no pain whatsoever. But he always was a quick healer. Unlike Shuu, his physical resistance was inferior but he was always the first one back on his feet no matter what.

"Surprisingly, I feel fine. Nothing like Shin described. I guess our bodies react differently when our armors are stripped from us. How's Ryo?" The question was asked hastily, as Touma seemed to finally realize that Ryo fought Silver alone with Azhure.

"He's fine. Got hit pretty hard though. Silver turned Shin's armor against his. But he's fine. Probably feel guilty about your condition. You know him."

"Yeah... No matter how bad we fight, we're still friends."

"You got it, buddy," Shuu replied with another smile.

"What about Azhure?"

"She's fine. Ryo told us she stayed at your side and made sure you were safe before doing anything to Silver. I think Seiji was too harsh on her. She may not be powerful but I think she has the values at the right place."

"Huh? Care to explain to me what you mean by that?"

"After he recovered from his hamburger indigestion and learned about what happened, he asked to speak to Ryo and Azhure. He was very angry. I didn't see him often like that."

"Maybe he feels bad for not being able to help them."

"In that case, he should have yelled at me. I'm the one who convinced him to eat those burgers and go in the rollercoaster." Shuu had that huge grin suddenly on his face. The thought of Seiji being sick was still funny to him since the blond warrior was rarely seen in such a state. Seiji was always well-dressed, gallant and never did anything too 'rebellious' to Shuu's eyes. "I think he was hard on her because she just slammed the door. That was what woke you up."

"I have to talk to her!" Before Shuu could protest, Touma pulled the blankets away from him and tried to get out of bed...only to fall face first on the floor, his legs still in t he bed. He moaned painfully. Shuu winced.

"Hey buddy... You hurt?" Touma somehow managed to pull his face off the floor and gave him one of those looks that mean 'what do you think genius?' Shuu poked his legs. "I think your legs didn't follow you."

"Do you have any other FINE remarks like this to tell me?" groaned the young teenager while trying to move his legs.

"You didn't recover that well."

"Geez, you think so?!" Touma's sarcasm had little effect on Shuu who was used to it after all those years of friendship with him.

"You think it's permanent?"

"You're doing a great job to comfort me, Shuu. Keep on like this and I might find the perfect plan to make you pay in your sleep!"

Meanwhile, in the girls' room, Aikyo and Rin looked at Azhure who was growling and cursing outside on their balcony as she walked from one side to the other. Neither of them knew what to do.

"You go talk to her," said the tomboy to the braided girl. "You're good with words."

"No way! She's going to have my head. Go ahead. You can take whatever she'll throw at you."

"Hey! I'm no punching bag!"

"Your claw thingy will protect you."

"You know I'm not good with words."

"Yeah and especially with Shuu."

"What's that suppose to do with our current problem?"

"You didn't have to show him your 'male' side all the time. He's a good guy."

"A perfect stupid guy, yeah. Keep getting in trouble and I have to save his ass every now and then. Shiro wouldn't be happy to have me hang around a guy like him."

"Since when do you care about what he has to say about your choice of men?"

"I can take care of myself! I don't need a guy!"

"Having a boyfriend doesn't mean you're too weak to take care of yourself."

"Uh. What about you and that Shin guy? You've been giving him the sweet look."

"He's cute. So what? I'm not ashamed to ACKNOWLEDGE my crush."

"I don't have a crush on Shuu," Rin said with a hiss.

"Denial phase. Cute."

"Stop playing matchmaker with me!"

"Go talk to Azhure while I go make some tea. We need to make her stop playing hero."

"She doesn't consider us her friends," Rin replied with a frown. "Didn't you notice how she keeps that barrier between us and her?"

"Psychology 101: she's doing that to avoid herself to get hurt again. She lost her whole family, Rin. Everyone she knew is dead. She's been traveling worlds to try to help people. Hard to make friends in that case."

"Why do you always sound so wise and why do I keep sounding like a brainless guy?"

"First off, you're a girl. Secondly, I'm the voice of reason and you're the fist to pound reason into thick skulls. We're the perfect match as friends so don't feel bad," Aikyo told her with a cute wink before leaving.

As she her mind wandered about how Rin will handle Azhure without losing her head, she walked down the stairs and caught a conversation between Shin, Seiji and Nasuti. The three of them were in the living and luckily for Aikyo, they didn't hear her coming down the stairs.

"---all make mistakes," said Shin to Seiji.

"But we can't afford any mistakes!" replied harshly Seiji.

"Enough, both of you!" Nasuti said as she stood between the two teenagers. "Arguing won't bring the orbs back. We should focus our energy on how to defeat this guy. Throwing your anger at Azhure and blaming her for everything won't solve our problem."

There was a long silence and finally, Seiji sighed and sat on the couch. He realized that he did blame Azhure for everything and probably for his own weakness. He was angry his friends got hurt and since she was the one offering her help, he accused her of many things and now, he felt horrible.

"You're right, Nasuti. I... But what if she IS deceiving us?" the thought only quickly reanimate his rage but he only frowned.

"Touma doesn't believe so. Neither does Ryo." Shin pointed out. "Same goes for the girls." He sat next to his friend, holding his hands together and looking in front of him. "I have to admit it is a risk. We barely know her and she did arrive, by some mysterious coincidence, at the same as him here. But you know, if you would just try to see beyond her distant attitude, you could see a glimpse of who she really is. You're afraid of girls so I take you didn't really try to know her better and you were too glad to see she didn't want to know us more, am I right?"

Seiji blinked at his friend then a little grin slowly started to appear on his lips. Shin chuckled softly. "I figured it was something like that. But you are absolutely right to be on your guard. Until we know her, we should all be careful. However, until now, she didn't show any signs of betrayal. I think we can trust her."

"Yes. I suppose you are right. I'm just...angry. We're all so powerless."

"It will work out. I know it will. Have faith ok?"

The blond warrior nodded. Nasuti smiled and proposed tea, an offer Seiji rarely refused and he was not making any exceptions tonight. The trio walked out of the living room, not noticing Aikyo who was leaning against the wall. She felt her cheeks burn as Shin walked by and that only made her more embarrassed. She had to focus on Rin and Azhure. Not him! But he was so calm and confident. He was probably the voice of reason of the group. That thought made her blinked and she slapped her forehead.

_That's so classic that even _I_ am disgusted by this_, she thought.

"Aikyo? What are you doing there?" asked Shin.

She yelped and covered her mouth as she looked up to him, hoping that would hide the blush. She judged by his grin it was a miserable failure but she didn't want him to laugh at her so put her hands away from her face and looked at him straight in the eye with the most serious face she could have.

"I'm here to get tea for Rin and Azhure. Before they kill each other."

"Kill each other? Why? Is Rin angry at Azhure?"

"No but Seiji surely pissed off Azhure! She could make this whole place explode with a fire spell you know."

"That wouldn't be good for us, is it?" Shin took a pensive pose and Aikyo gave him an odd look. When the water boy noticed it, he only laughed. "Sorry. I sometimes take Touma's bad habit of stating the obvious. When you hang out with your friends for a very long time, you tend to take some of their traits. Never happened to you with Rin?"

"Well... I do sometimes WISH to punch a guy or two for being rude but I never did anything to them." That remark only made Shin laugh more.

"You sound like you have it rough. Come. Nasuti and Seiji make the best tea in the world. Think that would be a good peace offering between Azhure and Seiji?"

"It's a start," she told him with a big smile on her lips before following him to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Rin was pacing in her room, trying to figure out HOW to get on the balcony and keep all her limbs from being torn away by an angry magician. She knew Azhure wouldn't hurt anyone but you never know someone enough to know how to handle them during a rage fit. She took a big breath and finally thought the best defence was to attack so she just walked on the balcony and stood right in Azhure's path. Her reaction was not what she was expecting.

"Can you believe that jerk?!" she yelled at Rin. "Do you think he's right!?"

"Hmmm..."

"How can you even side with him?! I never did anything wrong! Ok so I'm bad but still!!!"

"Well..."

"He doesn't even know me! None of you does! You have no right to judge me!"

"About that..."

"If I was working with him, do you think I would have BOTHERED to make those charms to protect you from him?! I could have just made charms to help him find you faster. You witnessed their powers first hand! You hide Shuu and yourself with it!"

"Yeah but..."

"See?! So I'm not---"

Azhure didn't have time to finish her sentence. Rin, tired of being interrupted, grabbed her arm, pulled Azhure closer to her to and slapped her hard with the back of her free hand. The white magician blinked and slowly put her hand on her bruised cheek.

"Ok. You're done being paranoid? Now it's my turn to talk." Rin hated herself from slapping her. Hitting girls was not her thing at all. But it was force unto her. "We don't know you. It's normal to have doubts to some point. But I'm not going to fall for that. Mistrust will only serve him. Not us. You're not a bad person. Aikyo doesn't think so and she's good a judging people. Unlike me. So I go with whatever she says about people. Except boys. For those, she's never right."

The foreign girl blinked at her and listened to her talking. The tomboy did her best to try to explain to her what she thought, tried to voice her opinion but she ended up talking about something or what she was saying had no link with the problem at hand. Finally, she said something that made sense.

"If you let us work with you, I'm sure we'll defeat him. You shouldn't take all that responsibility on your shoulders. We're in danger too. And warriors! Well, except Aikyo. She's more my groupie," said Rin with a big grin. "Anyway, teamwork would be much more efficient. You and Seiji are the only ones who can fight those jellies he summons but he's surely not invincible! The rest of us could fight him while you two keep his monsters at bay. Or something!!! What I'm trying to say is...please, trust us? If you do, I'm sure Seiji wouldn't be so suspicious of you. He's afraid of girls but you can tell there are things that can tick him off, whether you are a girl or not. His fear melts when anger takes over. Not good for you pretty girls, don't you think?"

"I thought, Azhure said after a long silence, since I lost everything, that I would never find anything that would replace what I've lost. I set my mind of revenge and never thought about anything else for the last two years and a half. But six months ago, before I came here, it started to get heavy... This solitude...I didn't want it anymore. Even if I can still hear my brother's voice, I always felt alone. I hurt many people's feelings because I didn't care about them. I only cared about getting Silver for what he did to me. And now, when I think about it, I've lost a part of myself in all this..."

"Oh stop being so dramatic!" Rin said with a dismissive hand gesture. "So you've been obsessed with revenge for a while. Fine. But you're not that bad. You're trying to help us in a more personal way, right?" She put her hand on her shoulder. She smiled at her. "You have the right to be angry, sad and pissed off at some dude who claims to be righteous when he was the one who couldn't lift a finger to help his friends. He's probably throwing the anger he has towards himself at you. So don't take it personal. Ok? What do you say we get some tea and spend some girl alone time huh? That will cheer you up. I'll get the chocolate!"

Slowly, a smile appeared on Azhure's lips. For some reason, she didn't feel that bad anymore. She wanted to let herself have friends again, to have a new start. Maybe after all this time, she deserved it. But Silver still needed to be taken care of if she wanted to have a new start somewhere else. She put her hand on Rin's then slowly removed it from her shoulder.

"I still can't forgive myself for what happened that day and until he's out of the picture, having friends will be hard for me." She saw Rin frowned at that comment but she only giggled. "I never said I wouldn't give you guys a try though. But before that..." she turned around and set her foot on the guard of the balcony before summoning her spellbook.

"What are you doing?" Rin asked.

"I'm going to get Ryo."

"What?"

"He ran away. We can't let him out alone like that. It's too dangerous for him. He could mess up and lost his orb. We don't need that right now."

"But...you said the charms made you invisible to the magic eye."

"Yes, they do. But I do have a little back up spell to take care of this. Keep the tea warm for me." And jumped up and vanished into the night.

Deep in the woods behind Nasuti's mansion, Ryo was sulking on a rock. Knees pulled to his chest, dark thoughts crossed his mind. He was angry at Seiji but mostly, he was angry at himself. He was the one who pushed Touma. He was responsible for the lost of his orb. He was the one responsible for letting Silver get closer to Kikoutei. These thoughts were killing him.

He decided he should give it another shot. Maybe if he was challenging him in the volcano, he would beat him. To be in his natural element should be better than Azhure's spell. Yes, he was sure of it. He would make up for his mistake by beating Silver himself. He would drag him out to the volcano and fight him there.

With determination, he stood up and looked at the charm around his neck. His hand enveloped the magic amulet and he pulled it away from his neck. But just when he was about to drop it, someone pulled his ear, grabbed the charm away from his hand and dug it deep into his left pocket.

"Don't you DARE do that you little hot-headed idiot!!!" yelled Azhure into his ear. Ryo winced but Azhure only yanked his ear harder. "What are you trying to do?! Killing yourself?! Good thing I found you before you threw your charm away because I would have KILLED you for throwing my effort into the garbage can!"

"OW!! You don't understand!! I---OWWWW!!!"

"No. YOU don't understand." She started to drag him back to the house by pulling him by the ear. The red warrior tried to resist but he was in such pain he finally tried to follow her pace to ease his poor ear. "Sacrificing yourself won't help Touma. Or your other friends. That will only discourage them more. If you want to feel like crap and blame yourself, fine! Feel free to do so! Last time I checked, you guys live in a free world! Do that! But don't you dare throwing out everything I've done so far for you guys! That is so insulting!"

"Owowowowowowow!!! Let me go!!!!" Ryo whined. But she was not listening to him.

"I may not be the best, but I'm the only option you've got! So lesson one: fighting him in your element was good but he has your counterpart: the Suiko orb. So we need another tactic. Whatever you were planning, you alone won't be enough. So no more solos or I swear to everything that is mighty that I will kick your ass so hard that you will never be able to sit on a chair for the rest of your life! Am I clear?!"

"AH!! Yes, yes, yes! Perfectly clear! OW! Let me go now!! OWWWWW!!!"

And that is how everyone saw them when they both walked back to the mansion. By the time they reached the house, however, Azhure did let go of her grip on Ryo's ear but only because she was afraid to pull it off. It would take Ryo many days before he realized she did this to protect him and not humiliate him.


	9. Chapter 9

From another world

Chapter 9: Unexpected

The day began anew as the sun rose from the horizon. He watched it, sipping a cup of coffee near the dry dead body of the old owner of the apartment. He didn't get rid of it yet for he thought the ultra clean apartment needed some...chaos. And a personal touch.

When he arrived on this world and after his toys ran away thanks to that pain-in-the-ass magician, he knew he would require a place to stay for he felt he would stay in this world for some time. It took him a while to understand people lived packed in buildings and none all of them were use for living. After some flying around, he found this apartment with a rich AND brilliant owner. He sucked every bit on knowledge he knew and dispatched the rest in a corner. Thanks to this, he wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd. He knew how to blend here now. He then used his powers to erase anything related to the man, erase the memory of everyone linked to him and made the door of the apartment vanish from the corridor. He had peace and no one was going to bother him.

As the first rays of the morning sun touched his skin, he found himself thinking about that silver hair teenager. He was obsessed with her since their first meeting. He met lots of women since he started his quest for power but none interested him that much. Whether the reason of this obsession was healthy or not did not matter to him. If love was involve or not in this obsession did not matter either. He wanted her. That's all he needed to desire her at his side.

Another sip of coffee. He heard them saying that Azhure defeated him by drinking some sort of coffee so he decided to drink that as well to not be caught off guard again. However, he didn't like the after effects: shaking, irritability and above everything else, the insomnia at night. It was driving him nuts. _Why would she drink that kind of stuff?_ he asked himself. He never understood her.

He always regretted the day he didn't kill her before her brother. That day, something happened after her brother sighed his last breath of life. She went nuts. That's all he could understand. All the souls of the people he killed, including her brother's, went into her body. Power always interested him but something inside him told him it was a power beyond him, something he could never acquire. He actually felt fear that day. That's why he gave up and ran away. Little did he know that she would follow him around, screaming 'Revenge' every now and then.

"Today is a great day. Let's kidnap the love of my life."

***

The waterfall was rumbling peacefully, its mist refreshing the hot rocks surrounding it. The Troopers, Rin, Aikyo and Azhure were sitting near it, in the shadow casted by a tall and old oak tree. The idea came from Azhure to leave Nasuti's house and come here. No one knew why she brought them here and it didn't take long before Seiji asked the question.

"So, he started, why are we here?"

"We need to elaborate a plan to defeat Silver. I thought a change of scenery would help us think."

"Nasuti could have helped," replied Ryo with a hint of bitterness in his voice. He was still angry at her for the ear pulling of last time.

"I think she has enough to deal with right now. Besides, she was gone grocery shopping for the lot of you. She will probably meet us here eventually if she reads the note we left her," Azhure answered. Ryo only made a face. He didn't like how Azhure was handling things and he knew some of the guys were sharing his dislike. None of them liked to keep Nasuti out of their plans, especially since she was already too deep enough in this story to keep out her out of danger. She had the right to know what their next move would be and her input was always welcome.

"That's just wrong! You shouldn't run this like you were the only one who knew what's going on!" he yelled.

"Actually, Ryo, she does. More or less that is," stated Touma. "But I agree I do not like this outdoor meeting. Isn't that dangerous?"

"Not if you all brought your amulets. Which...you did right?" Everyone nodded. "Ok good. Now, we know we can fight him on equal terms thanks to your armors's elemental property. No matter how powerful he is, you guys are the only ones so far who are strong enough to face him."

"That's too easy," Touma said. "Why us? He has absorbed hundreds of powers or collected as much artefacts before meeting us. Why would we be the only ones?"

"It's hard to say. Your armors are nothing like I've encountered before. I didn't study them but I feel some...weird energy in them. Something out of this world. It's like...your armors belong here but not at the same."

"That's because they came from the Youjakai," Seiji explained. "Some kind of world linked to our own. Demons live there. Our armors came from another one that was split into 9 pieces. The original armor came from the Youjakai and after the split, the armors were hidden here."

"That could explain it! Silver can travel to other worlds but not to other dimensions! The very nature of your power must be the reason why you can fight him."

"Hmmm... Forgive me for being ignorant," said Rin, "but you don't make any sense to me. What's the difference between worlds and dimensions and why would that have an impact on how the guys fight Silver?"

"Each world has one or more dimensions connected to them, the first dimension being the one where we currently are. The others are where your dead go or where evil spirits live or demons or any other magical beings. There are many worlds surrounding yours but because of your evolution, they are inaccessible to you. You didn't think you were alone in the universe when you look at the stars at night, do you?" Azhure's explanation made sense but it was still a bit confusing for Rin.

"So how's that making them able to fight that guy?" she asked her again.

"Since their powers come from another dimension, their very nature is different from any power Silver stole so far. He has the upper hand on me or you because our powers come from the same dimension he stole the others so he has the upper hand because of everything he stole. But the guys have something from another dimension so Silver loses his edge because his powers might not affect the guys the same way he can us or they might not even work on them at all!" Azhure was excited by this discovery but Touma quickly burst her bubble. The blue hair boy explained that considering the armors were here for a long time, they might have 'forgotten' where they were coming from. After all, Silver's first spell on them work and he was able to strip them from their armor easily.

They were all so busy talking about that they didn't notice the animals in the forest started to act strangely. Slowly, little by little, the squirrels and the birds settled close around them, their numbers growing rapidly. When they finally noticed it, it was already too late. The animals jump on them, claws and fangs and beaks ready and sharp. They scream, hoping to scare them off but it didn't work. Soon enough, the animals were on them. Aikyo screamed and ran to the water, trying to shake them off and jumped into the water. However, the fishes came at her and attacked her.

"You GOT to be kidding me!!!" she yelled angrily as she fought a trout out of her shirt.

Oddly enough, they didn't try to bite them. Actually, they didn't hurt them. They were all sneaking in their clothing or hair. As if they were looking for something. Aikyo noticed it all too late when the fish she removed from her shirt ate her amulet and swung itself back into the water. The same thing happened to the others: Rin lost her amulet as a squirrel ripped a hole in her rear pocket. The charm fell and broke. Seiji and Ryo got theirs ripped off by birds who flew away with them and the squirrels ran away with Touma's, Shin's and Shuu's amulets. After the attack, they all look to each other, surprised by what happened. Then, they hear him.

Silver came out of the shadows, laughing like a mad man. Maybe it was the coffee but he couldn't stop laughing. That laugh gave the shivers to Aikyo who hurried out of the water and rushed to Rin's side. The tomboy gently put her behind her and stood in front of her friend with a defensive stance. The boys did the same and the ones who still had their orbs reached for them...only to find out they were longer in possession of their mystical orb.

"Looking for this?" the power hungry man asked as he shown them the three remaining orbs in his hands. "If I had known earlier I could just steal them, I would have been less rude to your two comrades. Oh well. I'm just glad my little friends of the forest were grateful enough to destroy your amulets and stole your artefacts. Now, only the two girls remain. "

Ryo frowned and clenched his fists. He was so mad. To hear his friends got hurt for no reason fired up his spirit and rushed toward Silver who only waved a hand that sent a magical impulse that threw him back to his friends. Seiji helped him up and the Troopers watched with a horrified look their orbs reacting in unison. They were glowing brighter and brighter and the big grin of Silver told them he knew what to do. He screamed his hands in the air and the Kikoutei appeared on him.

"No... This can't be happening," Shin whispered.

"No way..." Shuu only found to say. He was staring at Kikoutei and for the first time, he found it scary. The eerie glow it was emitting made the animals fled, no matter if they were still under Silver's control or not. The new owner of the white armor snapped his fingers and a keikai appeared around them. He was a thief of powers, not a world destroyer. He wanted to fight to his heart content, to try out his new toy. He made an axe appeared in his hand, another artefact he stole, and swung it toward the Troopers and the girls.

Azhure created a magical barrier that resisted the powerful energy the axe depleted. However, the barrier wouldn't hold forever. Sooner or later, Silver would learn to control better the armor and its powers. She was astonished by the white armor and wondered where it came from. As Silver kept swinging the axe to destroy her barrier, she turned to the guys.

"What is that?!" she asked them.

"Kikoutei," Touma answered. "The nine armors together create the original one but five of them can create Kikoutei, an armor so powerful it can destroy the world."

"And you're telling me this NOW?!" Azhure was wondering if the time was appropriate to beat them up, but Aikyo's plea stopped her from analysing that thought. The braided girl was holding to her friend's arm to keep her behind Azhure's barrier but the tomboy was stubbornly refusing to listen to her.

"Someone has to fight him!" said a very motive Rin!

"You'll get killed!" replied Aikyo with tears in her eyes. "You can't fight him!! He's going to kill you!" She couldn't bear the thought to lose her best friend over a maniac. But Rin was able to shake her arm free and ran out of the barrier, her claw out. Silver swung the axe one more time but Rin stopped it with her claw. The energy was released on each side of her and she came out unharmed. She grinned at him.

"You shouldn't pick on defenceless people like that," she told him with arrogance.

"Your little claw can't do much against me," he hissed at her, feeling the dark power of the armor taking over him. He welcomed it, thinking it would help him to learn its secrets faster but little did he know that the armor already started to control him.

"RIN! Come back here!!" Shuu yelled. He tried to run out but Shin and Touma held him back. "Let me go! She can't fight him alone!"

"We can't do anything without our armors!" Touma yelled back to him. "We need to think of something!"

"Can't you see he's losing control?! He's just like the Mashos when they were under Arago's control!" Shuu said as he tried to get free. That comment made Touma realized something. The Mashos were fighting for Arago because he made them forget their virtue. When Anubisu remembered his virtue, he regained control of his armor and will and fought Arago. Kikoutei was the same: formed out of lust for power, it didn't have a purpose. If they could put back their virtue on the parts of Kikoutei that match their armor, maybe they could call them back and regain their armors. He shared his hypothesis with the others but the question was how.

"I could activate the virtues with my magic," Azhure said. "Just tell me which part matches your armor and your virtue. I'll take care of the rest."

"You can't leave us!" replied Aikyo. "The barrier won't hold!"

"It will. My sais are special artefacts with protective powers. They can create a keikai of their own. But you won't be able to get out until it breaks."

"You can't fight him alone," Shin objected. "And without any weapons!"

"Look we don't have time to argue! Rin is fighting that guy and I'm not going to let her die!" The sternness of Azhure's voice cut any other objection left. The guys gave her the info she needed and before walking out, Aikyo grabbed her hand.

"Please, protect Rin. She's my best friend. I don't think my water ability is powerful enough but I know you are! Promise me you'll protect her!"

Azhure smiled and made the promise before walking out of the barrier and fortified it with her sais. She called forth her magic book that magically appeared at her side.

"Hey! I thought that thing was still locked in the closet!" Touma said with a surprise face.

"Well it's not anymore, isn't it?" replied Seiji with a sweatdrop.

Ryo watched Azhure going into battle with her book to back up Rin. He couldn't believe he was relying on them to save him and his friends. He felt so helpless and more importantly, he felt bad for not being able to protect them. He blamed himself for not being more careful but he knew there were things he couldn't avoid. And he also knew that if anything happened to the girls, he would never forgive himself.

On the battlefield, Rin was keeping up with Silver and even managed to break the axe. She didn't really understand how she did that exploit and she was proud, almost grinning victoriously when she saw him summoned two katanas. "How many weapons do you have you maniac?!" she yelled at him.

"Not enough it seems!" he said before rushing at her. Using that opportunity, Azhure cut his running and slammed her on his helmet. "JIN!" she screamed. Silver suddenly felt a burning sensation on his forehead and screamed in pain, punching Azhure away from him. The white magician landed a couple of feet away, holding her stomach. She saw him hold his head, screaming and yelling what she did to him. Now she got his total attention.

"It's working!" Shuu exclaimed as he hugged Aikyo tightly.

"Can't...breathe..."

"I can feel my armor again but I can't call it back," Ryo said.

"She probably needs to awaken all of them before we can get them back," Seiji explained as he watched the battle. "But the virtues are hurting him. He might go out of control before she can get them all."

A scary thought none of them wanted to have. The Troopers lost many battles in the past but always won the important ones. If they failed here, they would feel like all their hardships would have been for nothing. Silver would go mad with Kikoutei and might destroy the world. And they were powerless unless they get their armors back.

Seeing Azhure hurt only made Rin more enraged. She dashed to him and slashed her claw at him but he dodged it. Using her dashing speed, she turned around and used a tree to give herself another swing at him. Azhure didn't lose a second and threw herself at Silver's feet to grab his two legs with her hands. As she screamed "Gi" and "Chi", Rin gave Silver a nice hook with her clawed hand. The man fell on the ground, besides Azhure, nearly crushing her. The girl moved away quickly and hurried to her friend's side.

"How are you holding?" she asked the tomboy.

"I'm still good," Rin answered with a cocky grin. She was a little out of breath but still very capable of fighting. From afar, she could hear Aikyo and the guys cheering for her and Azhure. "And we're winning. How good does that feel?"

Unfortunately, Azhure didn't have time to answer. A cry so loud forced them to cover their ears. Silver, driven mad by the pain, the overuse of caffeine and armor's power, unleashed an incredible wave of power around him. Azhure just had time to shout "Shield" to her magic book before it hit them both and the keikai protecting the Troopers and Aikyo. The book instantly created a magic shield around Azhure and Rin but it wasn't strong enough and broke under the pressure of the attack, sending them flying meters away from Silver while the keikai held but was significantly damaged. Cracks were not deep but visible and no one could tell how long it could withstand against a couple of such attacks.

"You little witch..." whispered angrily Silver at Azhure. "I don't know what you're doing to me but you're going to stop right now." He painfully advanced towards her. His legs and head were killing him but his arms were still alright. He didn't need to think or move quickly to beat them. Just to cut them in half.

"Wind arrows!" shouted Azhure. The book flipped its pages and casted the spell. It hit the armor bearer at full force but didn't make him budge. "Holy light!" she shouted again. The book executed her order but the ray of light didn't stop Silver's progression. "Damn!" she gathered to her feet searching for Rin. She found her a couple of feet away from her, unconscious. Silver noticed her worry and grinned. "Well that's déjà vu feeling," he told her with an evil smile. He changed his course to Rin. "You little wench. You need to know your place. See how powerless you are."

"NO!" Azhure managed to pull herself back to her feet and grabbed his right hand. "REI!" Once more, the Kikoutei wearer screamed and slammed her into a tree. The katana he was holding fell to the ground then broke.

_It seems like my armor is too powerful for my weapons. They break like a piece of glass. I need to find the proper set_, Silver thought before resuming his walk.

He couldn't walk properly and now he wasn't able to hold his weapons. Still, his hold on the armors was still too great. The Troopers needed one more virtue to take back what was rightfully theirs. But nothing seemed to stop Silver from walking toward Rin who slowly came around.

Azhure knew exactly what crossed her mind at that moment. Rin woke up and avoided the first blow before getting her feet. Her legs weren't strong enough so she fell on her knees. A second swing. She blocked it with her claw. But Silver dismissed it easily and Azhure knew Rin wouldn't be able to block the third blow. Her promise to Aikyo came back to her mind and Seiji's killing words _You only care about your own safety_.

The word "Switch" came out of her mouth with such clarity that she was surprised she didn't feel a hint of hesitation. Within a blink of an eye, she found herself at Rin's place and received the katana through her chest. Everyone was screaming or so she thought. She could only hear his voice and he was mad because she grabbed his left arm and refused to let it go. Then he sounded triumphant.

"You finally made your mistake," he told her. "After all those years, I finally put that sword through you like I did to your brother. How does it feel?" He yanked it a bit deeper in her.

_So that's how brother felt..._

"You will die as soon as I remove this sword from your body. There's no escaping it. You know, this is kind of funny. I might miss you. You were like my shadow for three years."

She had so many things she wanted to tell him. She often thought of what she will say to him if he was the one ending up killing her. So many things and yet her strength was leaving her. Her grip was weakening and everything around her started to get darker and darker. So little time. So many words. The taste of iron filled her mouth. Her time has come. The time was now. She had to say it.

"Shin."


	10. Chapter 10

From another world

Chapter 10: Revelations

"Azhure, you need to wake up," said a voice. It was a voice Azhure knew very well. She opened her eyes slowly and found herself lying on her stomach in a white open space.

"Am I...dead?" she asked out loud.

"It's kind of complicated but to put it simply, no," said the male voice. Azhure's heart stopped as she recognized the voice. She lifted up her head and saw her big brother, Orion, in front of her. He was still the same teenager she remembered. He didn't change at all. She pulled herself to her knees, her right hand covering her quivering lip. Never had she imagined she would deserve to see him again and there he was, standing in front of her in his blue warrior outfit. The only thing missing was his bandanna she kept dearly near her heart at all times. He kneeled in front of her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey now. Don't start crying. If you want to live, you have to listen to me very carefully, little sister."

She quickly nodded and got a hold of herself. As far as she could remember, he was always giving her courage to face her fears and just the thought he was behind her helped her to get through the worst. That was his talent: to give you confidence that everything is going to be alright.

"First, I want you to know that you did great so far. To do what you did, not everyone would have been able to do it," he told her with a big smile. "I'm very proud of you."

"But...I didn't save anybody. All those people...and our people...and you!"

"You did everything you could. And you were right to protect yourself from harm. Azhure, you are much more valuable than you think. It's my fault if you don't think so."

"What do you mean?" she asked him with a worried tone. Was he hiding something from her? Was he responsible for Silver coming to their city and claim all those lives? Orion bit his lower lip and looked away for a second before looking back at her.

"Azhure, I've blocked most of your powers after your absorbed my soul in you."

"What? I don't understand."

"That day when Silver came and attacked our home, something happened to you. Your heritage awoke. We are very special, you and I, sis. We come from a line of powerful magicians who had for duty to protect a sacred power: the power of life."

"I know our history, brother! Tired to live endlessly, the goddess of life gave her powers to our ancestor to keep it safe until she comes back to claim them. However, the goddess died before taking them back and those powers got diluted as they were passed from one generation to the next." Azhure knew that story by heart. When she was little, her mother often told her this story before going to bed. At the time, she thought it was a legend. How could a god decide that immortality was boring?

"It is because of that heritage that I was able to create my enchanted sword and you, use powerful magic."

"Yeah but I never could use it properly since--- Brother!! You don't mean you block my powers?!"

"Were you listening to me when I told you that part?" he asked, sweatdropping.

"Why?!"

"Azhure, our history is no legend. Every 50 generations, someone in our family can use almost 100% of the goddess's powers, as if that person was her reincarnation."

"You mean...I...?"

"That day, you actually CHANGE into her. For a brief moment. I saw it."

"You were dead at that time," she stated flatly.

"Death has his mysteries, trust me."

"So...I change into the goddess? What happened then?"

"You saved me. Silver was about to steal my powers from my soul but you took me and everyone he killed in you. But...I got scared. I was afraid she would take over your mind and you would just vanish. So I block your powers. When I did that, she vanished and you came back to your old self."

"All this time I wasn't powerful enough...when I could have! Orion, I could have avenged you long ago! You shouldn't have done that!"

"No!" His voice was still gentle despise the rudeness of his answer. "I know you were sad but I didn't want you to follow that road. I know I weakened you but at least, you remained yourself. I'm sorry if I caused you grief but I had to do this. To protect you."

"Protect me? From the goddess in me?"

"Azhure, I said that at every 50 generations, someone is born with the talent to use her powers to almost their full capacity, right? Well, that person goes mad and dies within the weeks following her awakening. It's too much power for a mere mortal. No matter our bloodline, we are still human."

She hated him for being always right when he was alive and somewhat felt relieved that she was still hating him for being always right dead.

"Ok so...what now?" she asked him.

"I'll release my hold on your powers slowly. I think at a slower rate, you could manage their full capacity eventually. Silver must never take your powers. Or anybody else for that matter. It is our duty to protect it."

"Alright. When's the part you explain to me why it's complicated to explain that I'm not dead?"

"Oh yeah... Well, you're still bleeding to death right now so it would be a very good time to start using some of that healing powers I just restored for you," Orion told her as he scratched the back of his head with a thinking expression. She never wanted to hurt her brother before but... False. She did sometimes wish she could kick his behind but never like now.

"Why are you guys always tell me important stuff at the last minute?!" she yelled, throwing up her arms in the air. "You all want my death, I'm sure!!"

"Now, let's not panic. We're inside your head so time is not the same here than outside."

"Oh good."

"But you do need to hurry up."

"Dammit!"

"I'll help you fighting Silver though. Now that you know I'm here, you'll never feel alone again. Now, touch your chest so the wound starts healing and let's go kick some evil magician's ass."

He said all that with a silly grin on his face. It felt so good to hear him and see him again. She touched her chest and the warm feeling filled her body. She threw her arms around her brother and hugged him as much as she could.

"Wouah!" he said with a surprised expression.

"I'll never have this chance again so let me hug you until I open my eyes again," she told him, smiling.

"Hey now... With all your powers, I'm sure you can touch a ghost," he told her before laughing. He nevertheless returned her hug. "I missed you, little sis."

***

"AZHURE!" screamed Aikyo as she rushed out of the protective barrier which broke after the young magician fell on the ground. The sais stopped glowing and lost any shine they had. It was like they died with her. When Touma noticed that, anger took the best of him and he called forth his armor. He wanted Silver to suffer for what he did to her. His anger was such he didn't even feel the tears running down his cheeks.

The Troopers summoned their armors in unison. Silver, stripped from the powerful white armor, was lost and confused. He stepped back a little from his stabbed victim and leaned against a rock. His hand on his head, he watched slowly the five young men putting their full armor while Aikyo went over to her fallen companion. He made a gesture toward her but he was tackled down by Shin.

Meanwhile, Rin remained where she was, staring at Azhure's body. Hundred of thoughts were crossing her mind as she was sitting on the ground, her arms holding her weight behind her back. Why did Azhure switch places with her? Why couldn't she block that last blow? Why was she unable to protect her friend? She wanted to scream but she could not. She wanted to cry but she could not. Suddenly, she felt someone yanking her up. It was Shuu.

"Get up!" he yelled at her. She didn't react and he pulled her more. "Come on! If you want to make up for it, you have to fight!" His gaze was far from the hatred glare she thought he would give her. It was full of anger and yet, sad. There was no hint of accusation in his eyes. "If you want me to yell at you for being responsible for her fate, I'll do it after we've won! Right now, we need your help if you can fight!"

Survival first. That slapped her back into reality. If she died here, Azhure's sacrifice would have been in vain. She would never allow that to happen. Her life had a price now. She had no right to waste it. However, she was too weak to face him again.

"You take care of him for me, Shuu," she told him with a determination in her eyes. "I'll protect Aikyo from him. Someone has too. You guys will be busy working as a team to kick his ass." She saw Shuu glared angrily at Silver. "I will. You can bet on it." Then he left to help the others. She ran to Aikyo and noticed something was wrong. "Aikyo?" she asked, worried.

"Rin, something is wrong with her body! Look!" Aikyo said, pointing to the glowing wound. It was of a soft golden color and warm. When Azhure's moved, Aikyo screamed and hugged tightly Rin who let go of a painful grunt. "Oh my god! She's alive!! Azhure!!!" said the water girl.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Seiji being thrown out toward the waterfall. She heard a distant crashing noise and judged he landed into the rocky wall next to the waterfall. Aikyo's voice reached her ears and without moving her head, her gaze searched her surroundings to find her. _My body...I can't move it. Brother, where are you?_ As if he heard her, she felt a cold touch under her right hand. She gripped it and felt renewed strength back into her body. She turned her head to the right and saw the magic sword of Orion: a one handed sword wonderfully crafted. Its handle was made of silver and black colored metals from her world that curled protectively around its master's hand once held. There was a royal blue gem at end of the handle. The blade was so sharp it could cut a cherry blossom petal just by falling on it. Slowly, she started to lift herself back to her feet using this sword.

Unfortunately, Silver saw her moved. He blocked Ryo's swords with his magic shield and sent a magical attack toward her. However, Azhure didn't only block it but nullify it with one swing of Orion's sword. But it was when Silver saw the ghost of her brother standing behind her, as if he was controlling her body that finally shattered his confidence to win this battle. The brother and the sister had the same eyes and furthermore, the same look on their faces.

"NO!" he screamed. "You're dead!! You're both dead!!!" He jumped back, away from the Troopers to put his magic shield all around him before summoning an army of demons to his aid. He could run away right now but with the brother back from the dead, he knew all the powers in the universe couldn't save him from his sword.

Before attacking Azhure's home, he heard the legend of the goddess of life and her legacy. He searched more information and learned the children of this legacy had the ultimate protective magic: nullification. With it, he thought he could be invincible. No one could touch him. When he lost the chance to steal it, he thought it was lost and the only thing that could have stopped him in his quest for power vanished forever. Never in his wildest dreams he would have thought that Azhure somewhat got a hold of this power. He knew the nullification magic was passed to the male heirs. So how could this be even possible?

"Rin, keep an eye out on Aikyo," Azhure told her friend without looking back at them.

"Oh no! You're not going solo on this!" Aikyo said. "We'll help you, right Rin?"

"As much as I can," the tomboy answered. "But I don't think I can do anything. I have a feeling he injured something when I tried to block his last attack with my claw..."

Azhure slowly turned around and touched her friend's arm. A gentle light surrounded the injured limb, healing it almost instantly and painlessly. Rin blinked at Azhure then at her brother's ghost. She wasn't sure what to do or say except 'Thank you'. The magician turned back her gaze toward the fight.

"I have to kill him," she told them with confidence. "There's an incantation I must perform so he can release every power he stole."

"And how are you planning to do that?" Rin asked. The demons were roaming everywhere around them. The Troopers, more concerned about the girls' safety than beating Silver, used their special attacks to keep the demons away from the trio. But when Touma noticed Azhure was alright and standing, he couldn't help it but ran to her.

"You're ok!" he said happily before killing two demons that came to them. He was soon joined by the four other Troopers who also rejoiced to see her alive. Hope was coming back to them. They kept fighting to keep the demons away while Azhure kept staring in front of her with a frown then, without any warning, she quickly held out her hand and sent a power spell in front of her. The spell hit a portal Silver opened to ran away, crossed it then hit the keikai the silver hair man put around them. The portal was destroyed and the magical barrier sealed shut by her powers. Everyone turned her gaze to her. Silver was now trapped with them and the only way out was to fight Azhure.

"It's time to end this chase here. Guys, I need your help to reach him. Can you lend me your help?" she asked them. For the first time, she looked confident and strong, like a leader. Seiji was worried for a moment that her brother was controlling her. It would not be the first time that he encountered a spirit controlling a human body. Badamon did it with Kayura after all. He nonetheless nodded to her request, his gaze not leaving Orion. The ghost noticed it but said nothing. The real matter now was to take care of Silver. He will deal with the green warrior after this task.

The Troopers as well as the two girls replied favourably to their friend's request. Ryo summoned Kikoutei and stood next to Azhure. Both of them looked at the army of monsters before rushing ahead. Instinctively, the group knew what to do and the next events happened very fast from that point.

Touma, Shin, Seiji and Shuu, after given their powers, still had some juice left to fight. They stayed with Rin and Aikyo who used their abilities to their maximum. To Shin's surprise, Aikyo was able to use the water from the river and waterfall behind them despite the distance between her and her element. She even managed to create a small tsunami that she controlled with ease to hit their enemies and without it going toward Azhure and Ryo. Still, he was too drained to join his special attack to hers even with so much water near him. As for Rin, she teamed up with Shuu to combine their strength. She wasn't as strong as him, but he found in her a great fighting partner. Like a perfect dancing pair, they waltzed their way into one enemy crowd after another, leaving behind only vanishing corpses.

In the meantime, Ryo and Azhure dodged the enemy attacks to go directly to Silver. They knew their friends couldn't up the fighting forever and Ryo didn't want to use his special attack before it was absolutely necessary. Besides, the number of these beasts didn't seem to increase no matter how many were killed. So they had to get rid of the source first. However, the closer they were to their target, the more difficult it was to avoid the enemy. Finally, Ryo found himself forced to use his attack to clear the path and, after a long run, they were facing their enemy. Azhure's mortal enemy.

He didn't try to be cocky or arrogant. He could feel the sweat coming down on his forehead. He knew he didn't look like a winner right now. Panic was all over his face. After tasting the power of Kikoutei, he knew what it could do and with Azhure's sword, he came to the conclusion that his magic would be useless. He tried to find a solution but there was none. However...he will not give her the satisfaction of a peaceful surrender.

He called forth more powerful demons that tackled Ryo away from Azhure. She watched the scene and tried to reach for him but her brother's voice called her attention back to Silver who summoned another weapon – a double-edged sword – to attack her. She blocked him just in time.

Their eyes met. The emotions were switched now: he was scared and she was brave. Both knew this would be their last battle. Both were afraid to die but their way of dealing with that fear was different. After a short while, the fighters broke their stance and jumped back. There was no need for words. After three years of chase, they knew what the other was thinking and wanted to say. To vocalize it was unnecessary at this point. Silver stared nervously at the sister then at the brother, back and forth. The siblings were moving in unison, as if they were one. He gritted his teeth before dashing toward them.

Azhure dashed toward him at the same time. She fought like she never fought before. Her moves were swift and precise. All her brother was doing was to lend her his strength and sword as well as a few words about how to counterattack and how to move. Her dodging skills were very good and her experience at close combat was fairly good for a girl who that kind of fighting for only three years. Clash. Dodge. Clash. Fist. Dodge. Foot. He was not holding back. He had some comfort in this fight: holding her brother's sword, she couldn't use magic in combat. It could cancel her attack. But she was able to cast a few defensive spells but she had to lower her guard to do that.

He noticed that.

And decided to wait for another opportunity for it.

The fight went on. He put more fervor into his swings. She dodged and twirled on herself to make him trip. He rolled on his side when she tried to pierce his torso with the sword then threw dirt in her face. She coughed up the dirt and tried to wash it away from her eyes. He darted forward but she stepped on the side to avoid him before preparing a shield spell. There was his opportunity. Just as he was about to strike her, Ryo came out behind Azhure and pushed her away. He blocked his attack with his two swords.

"You're not going to kill her while I'm around!" he yelled at him. Silver could tell the teenager was bruised but even his demons couldn't take care of him. He used a telekinetic blow to push him next to Azhure. Ryo blinked. "What was that?" he asked Azhure.

"He stole more than magic sources and magical items. He liked all kind of powers," she told him, finally clearing her vision.

"That's it," Silver said, out of breath. "You two might be invincible together, but your friends are not!" An evil laugh escaped from his throat and started another summoning. A horrible chill ran down the spine of Azhure and Ryo. Without losing another second, Azhure stabbed Silver's torso, barely missing his heart. The evil magician spitted out blood but didn't stop his summoning.

"Dammit!! Ryo! Take everyone out of there!!"

"But what about you and him?!"

"Just do it!!"

It was a race against time. Azhure started her incantation, in hope she will have the time to finish it before he ended his own incantation. Ryo, on his side, ran back to his friends through the horde of demons. If the chase after Silver wasn't easy, the way back wasn't a walk in the park either. They were slowing him down as much as they could. Ryo tried to scream but his voice never reached his friends. He watched with horror the apparition of blob, just like the ones he encountered at the beginning of this adventure. However, this one was massive and fell on all his friends. Azhure was only two seconds too late. Silver finished his summoning just before she ended her incantation. He smirked at her while his body was evaporating.

"I may have lost but at least, you will not have the joy of winning," he told her. His eyes rolled back in his orbits and he let a long sigh escaped his mouth: the sigh of the dead. A small column of light escaped from his vanishing corpse and tiny balls of light came out of it. The powers of everyone she met and before were free and returning to their owners. It was a beautiful sight but she didn't have time to look at it.

She ran back to Ryo who was now standing in front of the blob. The demons were turning to dust one after another, leaving them no strength to fight. She was at his side in a matter of seconds. The Kikoutei wearer was hitting the surface of the monster with all his might but nothing availed. Azhure took his wrist.

"Stop it!" she commanded him. "Only Seiji could destroy his kind. Besides, it's obvious this one has a much harder shell."

"Do something!" Ryo pleaded her. "He's draining them from their energy!"

"Return their powers to the guys!" Ryo nodded and broke the Kikoutei. The energy balls returned but Seiji didn't stir. "Dammit! He needs more energy!" Without a second thought, Azhure broke the shell of the blob with her sword, tossed it on the side and threw herself inside the blob before the cut closed itself. Immediately, she felt her strength leaving her. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

She swam across the blob's slimy insides toward Seiji. She grabbed his sword on her way to him. Luckily, it wasn't too far from him. Things were getting more and more difficult. She had to hold her breath and swim while being drained of her life. She hoped she would have enough to revive Korin's bearer. She grabbed him by the chest and put her palm against his armor. She remembered releasing a light spell with everything she got before passing out.

But this was enough for Seiji. He swiftly opened his eyes, grabbed his sword and released his light. The blob exploded everywhere. Slime was on the trees, the rocks, the grass and in the water. The keikai dissolved itself and the first rays of real light passed through. At the contact of the sunlight, the smile melted away. Everyone was safe and breathing. Rin threw up some slime.

"Ewww! Gross," Aikyo couldn't help to say. She wiped away the melting smile from her hair.

"It took me by surprise, ok?" Rin replied to her with a glare. "I was taking my breath and it hit us." She blinked at Seiji. "Geez, pretty boy, I didn't think you were such a flirt."

Everyone looked at Seiji who was holding Azhure just like a hero would: by the waist while she was leaning back, unconscious. He was blushing but said confidently: "Well I just couldn't let go of her after what she did, right?" He gently put her on the ground. "She looks fine. Tired but fine." Ryo let go a sigh of relief when he saw his friends moving.

"Man, that was way too close," Shuu commented. "But I'm glad this is over." 

"Yes, we'll have a normal life again," Shin said.

"What will you do now?" Touma asked the spirit. Orion turned around and gave him a look. "What?"

"Why do I hate you?"

Touma blinked. "What?"

"For some reason, I don't like you," Orion explained while he took a deep pensive stance. "Why? Why? Why...? Oh! I remember!" Touma never knew how but he felt a strong punch on his armored torso and fell on his back. He tried to catch his breath and blinked at Orion.

"Never touch my sister like that AGAIN!"

"Oh... You saw that...?" Touma said, remembering the time he grabbed Azhure's breasts to wake her up. "I said I was sorry! I had a good excuse!"

"NEVER AGAIN!"

"Copy that."

"I told you to be careful around her," Rin told Touma with a grin.


	11. Chapter 11

From another world

Chapter 11: A new life

It took her a couple of minutes to realize where she was after she opened her eyes. Rin's smell was all over the bed sheets and the perfume of Aikyo was also in the air. She looked around but found no one. Without any difficulty, she sat up, remembering the last events in her memory. It felt like days went by since then. How long was she asleep?

A quick glance outside gave her a small hint of time. It was late morning or early afternoon she thought so at least a day had passed since Silver's attack or rather, Silver's death.

She couldn't believe that she finally avenged her brother and her people and that Silver will never again harm someone else. A feeling he would appear in front of her any minute was lingering still in her heart. This was too good to be true and yet, it happened. She killed him with her own hands. It would take her some time to feel at peace.

She threw the bed sheets on the side, got up and put back her white magician outfit then the straps for her sais on her thighs before sliding the weapons into them. It was more out of habit really. It was her routine after Silver left a world: put back her own clothing and go after him. But now, she didn't know what her next move would be now. What do you do after spending three years wandering to find the assassin of everything and everyone you loved and killed him? What do you do after revenge?

Silently, she stepped out of the room and looked down the corridor. A dim light came from the communal room downstairs and voices could be heard. They were all happy and cheery. She could easily distinguished each one of them: Shin and Shuu fighting over food, Ryo laughing, Nasuti scolding them for not sharing, Rin jumping into the fight to get some food too while Aikyo told her to mind her manners...

This made her smile and she started to walk towards the light but she stopped after only four steps. She took out her brother's headband and stared at it. It felt smooth and silky between her fingers and her mind started to wander. She could hear him urge her to go join them, that there was no need to fight and wander anymore. But she felt she didn't belong.

He disagreed with her and she shook her head before heading back to the room. She found her magic spell book on the night table next to her bed. Her brother told her Touma put it there carefully in hope she could 'bring it back to life'. The book didn't move since her near death experience so her friends was wondering if something died in it at the same time as her. She simply shook her head and took it before heading to the window, opened it then vanished into the forest.

***

"Ok, guys, Touma said, I better go up there and bring some food to Azhure in case she wakes up."

"Yes, you go do that, Touma," Aikyo answered, covering Rin's mouth who was clearly in disagreement with that statement. "Me and Nasuti will make sure to save some food for you."

"Nah, it's ok. I know our favorite endless pit here will never get his fill. I'll ask him to cook me something," he replied with a grin.

"Sounds like a reasonable deal to me," Shuu answered before digging his teeth into a hamburger. Touma laughed and took the tray upstairs.

Another victory and all his friends were still in one piece. He was grateful. This kind of victory was never taken for granted. And he was also glad that no one had to sacrifice himself or herself to save everyone. Sometimes, he still had dreams about the last fight with Arago, the one where Ryo had to hold him still while he and the others stroke him down with the powers of their armors. Most of the time, Ryo died. Touma would wake up, covered in sweat, in the middle of the night when that happened.

He pushed the door of the girls' room and froze when he saw the empty bed and the opened window. His mind was racing. Was she kidnapped? Did Silver fake his own death and came back for her? Whatever happened, he couldn't stand there. He roughly put the tray on the first surface available to him, not minding what was on it or if it was going to stay here then yelled for his friends before suiting up and jumped out. He had to find her. He knew the others would soon follow after him.

Of course, that was a foolish move to do. He knew it. He didn't know where to start looking or what to look for. But something urged him to hurry. He was worried about her. However, going around aimlessly will not bring her back.

Refusing to let the panic take over, he stopped moving and started thinking. The room wasn't trashed so there were two options: she left by her own will or she was taken while she was still asleep. He remembered the magic book was not on the night table where he left it so he concluded she took it with her, meaning she left the room on her own. Why?

A sudden hunch made him look at the trees and he immediately noticed some broken branches. The memory of Azhure jumping down from a tree the first time they met made him realize that she might be using the trees to move around just like him and the other Troopers. He jumped at the first tree near him and followed the trail. He didn't go very far. He found her near the lake, holding the book tightly to her chest.

She was staring at the lake, the wind blowing in her chestnut ponytail. He noticed the blue headband holding her hair. He wondered why she finally decided to wear it openly like that but he had more important questions in mind than that.

"I'm lucky you didn't go very far," he started telling her as he walked closer to her. "You got us worried. I thought someone kidnapped you! What were you thinking, leaving the house like that?" His voice was a mix of anger and happiness. He wasn't sure himself which emotion dominated the other. "Are you alright?" Azhure quickly turned around, surprised. Obviously, she was not expecting someone to find her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"Can't you tell? I was looking for you," he said as if he was stating a fact, his arms folded on his chest. He knew where this conversation was going and he didn't like it one bit.

"Why?"

"What kind of question is that?! You're my friend! Why else would I be looking for you?" She looked uneasy and stared down at her feet. He knew that look. Loners often get that look. His anger vanished. He held up his hand and smiled to her gently. "Come back home with me. Everyone is waiting for you." She looked at the hand and her expression became more painful even.

"I can't," she finally managed to whisper. But Touma didn't lower his hand. He looked straight into her eyes when she looked up at him. "I…don't belong here."

"That's not true…"

"It is. When I heard you all laugh downstairs and I was all alone in the corridor… I knew my place wasn't here."

"I'm sorry we left you alone. You were very tired and you have been sleeping for a whole day. Aikyo and Rin thought you would be better if you could rest without us checking on you all the time. I agreed with them. I was on my way upstairs to see if you were finally up when I came in and saw the empty room." His apologies were sincere but Azhure just shook her head. Just like for her brother, she refused to listen to Touma.

"My place is not here."

"Stop saying that!" He didn't know what to tell her anymore but he refused to give up. "Where will you go? You have no home. You said a lot of people were not nice to you in other worlds. Where will you go if you don't stay here?"

"Back to my own world. My country is no more but my world still exists." She turned around and opened a doorway to her home world. Her gaze turned back to Touma. "Everything is back to its own place now. It's time for me to go back to mine."

"You don't have to. You'll be all alone. Please, at least, stay a little to think over it."

Again, she shook her head. She was so stubborn that Touma wanted to strangle her. Always the same song. 'I don't belong.' He said he was sorry. He told her she was his friend. What else did she need? Was she trying to convince herself that she truly didn't belong? Was she punishing herself further for what happened with Silver three years ago? Why couldn't she just be happy? Nothing was waiting for her back home. And yet, she told him goodbye and started to walk toward the portal.

He refused to let her go. Hoping that her ghostly overprotective big brother would leave him alone, Touma reached for her wrist and pulled her close to him, putting his arms around her to hug her. Even though he was in his subarmor, the hug was far from being cold and harsh. His right hand gently found its way on the back of her neck and he gently pulled her face toward on his neck while his left arm surrounded her hips. This was his last argument. He was out of words, out of ideas and out of excuses to keep her here. He thought he saw a sign of hope when he saw her arms surrounding him to return the hug. But the teardrop he felt dropping down his neck shattered every hope he had left.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him. The hug was unbearable to her. She had to get away. She pushed herself free from the embrace, ran to the portal and ignored Touma's voice as she vanished into the portal quickly as she came into this world. The Tenku bearer was left alone on the shore of the lake, staring at the water, where the portal once appeared.

***

"When were you going to tell me?" asked Rin to her best friend. Aikyo shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. When it would be more serious?" the silver hair girl replied. Rin gave her friendly glare.

"Huh-huh. You were scared of telling me!" The tomboy wore her pouting face as they both walked toward Nasuti's home.

"More or less. I know how you feel about men. But Shin is a good guy. His kiss was so sweet."

"Yeah. I saw that." Rin surprised Aikyo and Shin kissed the night before and she didn't really like it. Not that her friend wasn't capable of making her own decision but considering everything that happened to them in the last days, dating a guy who was in the same situation might not have been the brightest idea according to her. Aikyo's point of view, however, was different. She liked Shin the second they first met and last night, she had the opportunity to see if they could actually get somewhere. They went out with the guys to change their minds about Azhure's departure (Rin liked to call it "the inexplicable escape of an irresponsible hero") and the braided girl actually managed to spend a lot of time with Shin, a bit apart from the group despise her friend's efforts to keep her with the group and with a romantic view on the sea and the starry sky, some things get easier to say or do.

"Oh stop being that way! We're not officially dating yet! It was done on the spur of the moment. I have no regret."

"Right. Why are we going there again today after seeing them last night?"

"Don't be so moody. It's not like you. We forgot some of our stuff there so we better get it so Ryo can get his old room back entirely, without any girly clothing that will give him nosebleed." She grinned as the tomboy regained her defensive sparkle back into her eyes.

"The pervert! He might be sleeping with your sexy laundry!!"

"I didn't bring any cloth of that kind there," Aikyo told her with a sweatdrop. Rin liked her tomboy attitude maybe a bit too much but at least, she was in a good mood again. _Now, if she could be less of a tomboy so Shuu could try to ask her out…_

A soft wind blew into the leaves of the trees surrounding the big house where Nasuti and the Troopers lived. The day after Azhure left, the girls went back to their respective homes. The house was big but there were not enough rooms for everyone. Ryo wished nothing more than having his room back, but even though he did not whisper that desire, Nasuti could read on his face that he would love to have more privacy. A small room for three growing teenagers was without a doubt inappropriate. Seiji was sleeping deeply so he was never disturbed by Touma's late nights but it was not the case for Ryo. Moreover, Seiji's early mornings killed any rest Ryo could get after having a light night of sleep. Both boys seemed to be able to get along with their habits but patience started to grow thin for the Rekka bearer.

Therefore, it was with a heavy heart she talked to the girls about the situation. There was also the matter of their families to take into consideration. It was obvious that the boys wanted to stay here again and she had a special attachment to them. Nasuti never wanted to throw any one out of her home but she had to take a decision. Her greatest fear was that the girls would hate her but this fear was unfounded. Rin was the first one to agree with her and even if she liked staying here, she also noticed the lack of bedrooms. The danger was no more so they had to go back. There was no use into abusing of brown hair girl's hospitality any longer. Nasuti told them warmly they would always be welcome and just because they couldn't stay to sleep didn't mean they couldn't come any time they want. Today marked the anniversary of their first week they returned to their daily routine before Silver's first attack on them.

They rang to the door and waited for someone to answer. Shuu was the lucky winner. He smiled to them.

"Welcome! Come in! Come in! Hey Shin!! Your girlfriend and her friend are here!!!" he screamed inside the house. A loud noise was heard in the kitchen, followed by a rush of blood in Aikyo's face. "What? You thought we didn't know?" he grinned before letting them in.

"Somehow, that actually makes me feel a little bit better. I just hope he didn't cut a finger in there," Rin replied before removing her shoes. She was wearing clothing that was a bit more feminine that her usual attire but Shuu kept any comments to himself. Last time he tried to compliment her about her clothing or her face, he nearly got stabbed. A boy learns tricks rather quickly at this rate. "It's quiet here. Where is everybody?"

"Oh around… Ryo is on the balcony, enjoying some peace I think. Shin is, of course, in the kitchen with Nasuti. Seiji left to get Touma."

"Blue boy went back to that place again huh?" Aikyo asked sadly. The loner of the Troopers spent a lot of time every day on the spot Azhure vanished to her home world, hoping to see her come back. No one understood this behavior. It was even stranger to see he wasn't sad. He was looking like…a person who was waiting for someone. But everyone thought he felt bad for letting her leave. Aikyo thought he was heartbroken but no one shared her opinion.

"Yeah. But they should come back home soon," the strong teenager replied.

"I think it's time for him to move on," Rin said. "Once he's back, we should all talk to him and make him see the truth! She abandoned us after saving us! He needs to get over it!" There was bitterness in her voice. She never forgave Azhure for how she left them without a word.

"I don't agree with everything you said but you're right on one thing. He needs to move on," Aikyo told her friend with a nod.

"Geez, you two don't know Touma. He can be the stubbornness guy around you know. It's not going to be that easy," Kongo sighed.

"Is that so?" a calm but joyful said behind them. The trio turned around only to see Touma walking into the entrance with Seiji. He barely removed his shoes that Rin took him by the arm and dragged him to the dining room.

"Shuu, go get Ryo. Aikyo, get Nasuti and Shin. As for you, Mister Touma, we're going to have a talk about your behavior." Five minutes later, everyone was at the table of the communal area. Seiji and Nasuti stood a few chairs away from Touma, on his left, while Shuu was sitting next to him, on his right. The rest was sitting in front of him. Touma sighed.

"Guys, I'm sorry if I worried you. I didn't mean to," he told his friends. But Rin stood up and put her right hand on the table and leaned on it a little.

"Stop it, Touma. You are not ok. You've been on that lake shore for 8 days straight! That's not healthy!" the ponytail girl stated. Aikyo nodded before stating her own opinion.

"You've been wearing a mask ever since she left! I know it's hard to accept but…we don't know if she will come back. I wish she would but we have no way of knowing or telling her we want her back."

"We know you like her. We all did. But the facts are this: she left without any desire to come back," Ryo said after a small silence. Touma looked at his friends and sighed again.

"I'm sorry. I thought she would be back by now. I presumed she would have noticed it by now but I guess if she didn't, it means she didn't need it." His friends blinked at him They were not sure what he meant. He grinned and took out something before putting it on the table in front of him: it was one of Azhure's sais.

"Where did you get that?!" Rin exclaimed, surprised.

"I took it from her, of course," the blue boy replied with a wider grin. "I might not be the best when it comes to people but I can tell when someone needs a little push to take a good decision. She was lost and lonely. So before she left, I hugged her and stole one of her sais."

All this time they thought he was mourning her lost, he had been doing exactly like he looked like he was doing: waiting for her to realize he got something from her and to come back to claim it.

"You're one sneaky little bastard," was the only thing Rin was able to say, returning his grin. But it soon vanished when she heard thunder outside the house.

The weather suddenly changed from being sunny to cloudy and thunder was roaming in the sky. The wind, once so gentle, was now blowing furiously, shaking the trees like it was trying to remove all the leaves from their branches. The door slammed open as someone gave it a good kick and walked in with angry eyes.

It was Azhure.

Her white outfit had stains of grass and mostly mud. It was also torn at some places and holes could be found here and there but nothing too revealing. Her cheeks, forehead, chin, forearms and thighs had light red marks that seemed to have been made by tree branches, rocks and bushes. She pointed her remaining sai at Touma.

"Touma Hashiba," she yelled.

Quickly, Touma took his stolen good and planted it under the table. Nasuti's face immediately shown a terrible shock when she realized her beautiful table was now marked forever but Seiji put a hand over her mouth and tried to keep her quiet.

"It's Hashiba Touma, actually," Touma replied with some ease. Shuu couldn't believe his friend found the guts to say that to an armed angry girl.

"Where is it!?"

"Where is what?" he asked innocently.

"My sai! You stole it!"

"Do you have any proof? I mean, you abandon us 8 days ago. Maybe you lost it during that time?" Aikyo opened her mouth to say something but Rin just left her finger to tell her to not say anything. The white magician was so focused on the Tenku bearer that even if anyone here spoke, she wouldn't hear them.

"Don't play dumb with me! Where is it?!"

"Are you going to leave us again?"

"I have to go back and kick the ass of the barbarians who put me into this mess because YOU STOLE MY WEAPON!!! Don't you know that my fighting depends of TWO weapons and not one?!"

"They battered you that bad?" Touma replied with a hint of worry. There was a moment of silence.

"Well… No. I jumped down a cliff to escape them and to slow down my descent, I pulled my sais. I did that hundreds of times without getting me killed because TWO sais are enough to slow down my course! With one, it didn't work so…"

"So you crashed into a bed of thorn bushes instead of 'gracefully' land beyond it?" Another moment of silence.

"Who cares?!" she said with a blush. "None of this would have happened if you didn't steal my other sai! Give it back, you thief!"

_I can't believe this girl_, Rin thought, shaking her head.

"No." Touma folded his arms over his chest. He was unimpressed by the angered magician and he wasn't scared to show it to her. "I'm not going to give anything back to you."

"What…?"

"You heard me. You're stuck here with us." He grinned at her.

"I'll make you talk," she said between her teeth. She was taken by surprise when Touma took his orb and changed into his subarmor.

"Make me," he simply told her before dashing off. She didn't need more to follow him. Little did she know she fell into his trap: he used himself as bait to lure her away from the weapon he hid.

Once they left the house, Shin walked toward Touma's place, looked under the table and took out the sai from the table's wood.

"That's going to leave a nasty mark," he said. The comment put Nasuti into a red rage. She freed herself from Seiji's gentle grip, took a broom and went after Touma, screaming to Azhure to leave her a piece of him.

"Great. They're going to kill him," Rin said with a sweatdrop.

"Well that a good boy," a familiar voice said besides Seiji. The blond warrior was startled by the sudden apparition of Orion next to him but tried to conceal it.

"What are you doing here?" the Korin bearer asked.

"Oh me? Well, watching over my sister of course."

"Shouldn't you go and try to stop her?"

"She won't kill him. Besides, I think he can take anything she throws at him. She used all her magic energy to come back here."

"Is that so?" Seiji said, a little intrigued.

"Yup. Thanks to my help, Touma was able to make her come back."

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't clearly tell him where she ran off to but I can help people think about…unexpected things to get what they want." Seiji frowned at this comment.

"I don't like how you control others," he told the ghost. The ghost grinned at him.

"You don't know a thing about what I can do."

"I don't like you."

"I'm glad we have something in common: I don't like you either, pretty boy."

While Orion and Seiji were getting into a staring contest, Aikyo walked outside with the others to watch the sky. The bad weather was nearly all gone and the wind was becoming warm and gentle again. Was that a reflection of Azhure's heart? The silver hair girl knew they will have a lot of things to do for the next days: hide Azhure's sai until she agrees to stay here and give it a try, repair Nasuti's table so she wouldn't have Touma's head, finish all their homework before attacking their summer homework, find a way to match Shuu and Rin so she and Rin could go on double dates and there was also Ryo's birthday coming up… Yup. Busy days were coming and that made her smile. She hugged Shin's arm, welcoming the radiant sun who finally chased away the last clouds of the sky.

And a few weeks after Azhure's return, Seiji received a letter from New York City.

The end


End file.
